


Looking For Something Real

by Limey_SAO



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Drama, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Non-Canon Relationship, Romance, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2019-10-30 22:49:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 35
Words: 61,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17837492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Limey_SAO/pseuds/Limey_SAO
Summary: The story follows my OC, Tyzn. A player of SAO who is trapped along with the 10,000 others and follows him as he fights to end the game. It then follows his troubles after SAO, culminating in a budding romance with Lisbeth/ Rika Shinozaki (My favourite character outside of the Kirito/Asuna ship). Expect lots of Angst eventually leading to romance and some smut/Lemon hence the rating. Basically this evolved over time to become a love story between Liz and Tyzn and my more recent chapters are entirely based around this.





	1. Quick Authors Note

This story was a little project I started to kill time during lunch at work, but quickly became something I sank my free time into. It is my first time writing a story of this length and any constructive feedback is appreciated. :D

 

Initially the plan was to keep as separate from the main events of the story as I could but eventually they had to meld together. Because of this expect it to change a little of the Aincrad Arc, have nothing to do with the Fairy Dance Arc (Kirito went in solo after all) and by the time we get to Phantom Bullet it'll tearing the official lore to pieces. :D

 

I will also add that most of my information on the official lore comes from the Anime and Wiki. I have only read small excerpts from the Light Novel series so it's possible I get some things wrong but I have done my best to stick to the lore and timescale where I can.

 

As of writing this I have finished writing 31 chapters of this story (Although most of those need a couple more passes to make sure they are ok) and I have around 20 more planned all the way up to the start of Alicization.

 

I don't own anything related to Sword Art Online, and expect this story to contain plot spoilers.

 

I'm hoping to get a chapter uploaded every couple of days, so if you like the story please follow :D


	2. Introductions

 

Chapter 1- April 4th 2024- “Introductions”

57th floor- Marten

 

It has been a year and a half since Sword Art Online became the world’s first death game. In that time thousands have died. For some of the remaining people, Aincrad has become accepted as their reality. Others see it as only temporary until the game is cleared, simply eking out their lives until the time comes. But for those on the front lines, every day is a struggle to survive. To live through fight after fight while pushing on to clear the game, if not for themselves then for all those stuck in this horrific trap.

 

 In the city of Marten on the 57th floor the strongest players in the game, those part of the assault team, begin to prepare themselves for the fight to floor 58. The cathedral within the city acts as their forward headquarters. Here the leaders of all the top guilds gather to discuss plans and share information gathered by their parties.

 

Whilst the guilds all technically have equal authority in matters regarding the assault team, the strongest among them, The Knights of the Blood Oath, hold the final say in most planning. Standing as the representative for The Knights is their second in command, Asuna. A true warrior and well known for being pragmatic, driven and ruthless, she is determined to see the end of the game and to return to the real world.

 

Asuna paces at one end of the cathedral. This is the part about clearing a floor which she dislikes the most. The waiting for scouting reports of the next labyrinth and the slow push toward the next gruelling floor boss battle. Normally she would be on the frontline clearing the dungeon herself, but since being promoted to second in command her role had become much less about the fighting and more about the inter-guild politics. At least once the boss is located she can go back to being just another warrior in the assault team. But until then she must play her part, and if it leads to clearing the game as fast as possible then so be it.

 

Elsewhere in the cavernous cathedral other guilds discuss what they have found on the floor and the challenges they must face. But almost as if by instinct they keep their voices low. _As if this construct of 1’s and 0’s is a real place of worship. Perhaps it would have been before Akihiko Kayaba decided to turn the game into this twisted hell._ Asuna thought to herself.

 

Her train of thought was interrupted by another player approaching. A boy with short spiked hair, deep green eyes and carrying a spear. Asuna knew him well, _Tyzn_. He was reliable in battle and one of the best mappers in the assault team, but suffered the same pig-headed stubbornness that seems to affect all solo players.

 

“Hey Asuna” he said “got some new map data.”

 

“Let’s see” Asuna replied quickly. Tyzn transferred his collected map information and Asuna began looking over the sprawling dungeon. As expected this labyrinth was more complex than the last, as that had been to the one before. “Still no boss room though” Asuna sighed.

 

“I had to turn back here” Tyzn responded, pointing at an incomplete section of the map. “If I had to guess the boss room will be just behind the mobs that block this corridor, I didn’t have any healing items left at this point though.”

“I see” Asuna said in a low voice. “I’ll send a scouting party to investigate this area then”.

 

“No need, I’m just going to stock up on items then I’m going back in, I’ll leave behind a corridor crystal if I do find the boss door though.” Tyzn said before turning to walk away.

 

“Hold on!” Asuna said in a raised voice. Tyzn stopped but didn’t turn back to face her. “It’s getting dangerous for parties to travel with fewer than four people inside a dungeon, let alone for a solo player. At least take a few members of my guild with you.”

 

“Nah, I work faster alone” Tyzn replied over his shoulder.

 

“Ergh! I’m getting sick and tired of this with you solo players, always thinking that nothing can stop you and then you wind up dying and nobody is any the wiser.” Asuna said in a raised voice.

 

Tyzn stood still and quiet for a few seconds before responding “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be back soon.”


	3. Whirlwind

 

Chapter 2- June 28th 2024- “The Whirlwind”

48th floor- Lindarth

 

I walked along one of the canals of Lindarth desperately trying to decipher the map I had of the place.

 

 _It’s odd how I can navigate a cryptic labyrinth without a problem, but I can’t seem to work out this damn town_ I thought to myself. _The usual methods for highlighting directions such as follow the canal or second left after the waterwheel doesn’t apply when every damn house is both on a canal and has a waterwheel._

I had come to find a particular blacksmith, rumoured to be one of the best in all of SAO. It was said that she forged a powerful sword for the black swordsman, Kirito, himself. I had seen him in action in boss raids before and his combat technique was impressive to say the least, _so if this blacksmith could forge weapons acceptable to the famous Kirito then she could surely help me out_ I mused.

 

A few minutes later I managed to find the place I was looking for. A hanging sign read “Lisbeth’s Smith Shop” with a picture of a helmet prominently displayed. “Finally, hope it’s worth the hassle” I sighed as I entered the shop. A bell above the door chimed as I entered which was shortly followed by a voice calling out “Be with you in a minute” and the grinding of metal. As I waited I inspected the wares on display. There was a myriad of katanas, long swords and daggers, but when it came to my weapons of choice it seemed like there was few options.

 

Suddenly the grinding stopped and I heard footsteps approaching. As I turned to the opening door I was met by a truly dazzling sight. In the doorway stood the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, a girl with bright pink hair and freckles on her cheeks wearing the most amazing smile I had ever seen. Even her outfit cried of cuteness and I felt my heart jump into my throat at the mere sight of her.

 

“Welcome to Lisbeth’s Blacksmith Shop” she called “What can I help you with?”

 

All I could do was stand there like a deer in the headlights. _JUST SAY SOMETHING_ my mind screamed. “Errr… Hi” I managed to squeeze out before gulping slightly. “I was wondering do you have any glaives or can you make one for me?”

 

Lisbeth squinted at me and replied “Why would you want a glaive specifically? It has the same attributes as spears but less reach. Look if you are just looking for something cool to use you’re in the wrong place, I’m busy making weapons for people who are actually trying to clear the game.”

 

“Oh no I am seriously looking to upgrade, a standard spear doesn’t have the large blade to counter properly and a glaive is easier to use up close in a fight.”

 

“Yeah that makes sense… And what are you fighting exactly?” Lisbeth responded mockingly.

 

“Well I’m on the frontlines most of the time so that changes often” I retorted.

 

“Hmmm, but you don’t have a guild icon.” Lisbeth said while continuing to squint at me.

 

“I’m a solo player so I’m not in a guild” I replied. _Why does everyone seem to have a problem with that_ I wondered.

 

“Oh god another one” Lisbeth said while rolling her eyes “Well look I’m not going with you to find some rare metal to craft something amazing, I’ve made that mistake before. If you want a custom weapon made you’ll have to bring your own materials or settle for what I have here.”

 

“Ok… will this work?” I asked as I handed an ingot to Lisbeth. As she inspected it her eyes went wide.

 

“Whoa where did you find True Speed Ingots? I thought these were just a myth.”

 

“There was lots of golems on the 59th floor, they have them as a rare drop when beaten so I picked up a few.” I opened my menu and displayed the 12 more in my inventory. Lisbeth seemed like she was going to fall over backwards at the sight of all those rare materials.

 

Eventually she seemed to compose herself and said “I tell you what, whenever you get rare materials like that, you sell them to me first at a discount. In return I’ll make you an amazing Glaive and keep your gear all fixed up. Deal?”

 

 _A reason to keep coming back? Take it you fool!_ My mind shouted. “Yeah… deal” I finally spluttered out. Lisbeth’s smile grew wide and she beckoned me to follow her to the workshop.

 

Lisbeth took the ingot and placed it in the furnace. She nodded before taking the metal back out and beginning to hammer it out into shape. The ingot gradually changed into a slight sausage shape and then suddenly the metal elongated and formed into the shape of a glaive. The business end of the weapon was silver and curved back towards its point and the hilt looked like it was made from some dark wood. Whilst it was a simple blade to look at I could see it was expertly crafted.

 

“Ok all done” Lisbeth said triumphantly “She’s one of a kind, I’ve named it ‘Whirlwind’. Give it a quick try and see what you think.” I picked up the weapon and used two basic sword skills to test it. To my surprise the glaive seemed like it weighed no more than a short sword and moved through the air at a blistering pace.

 

“This will be perfect” I said beaming. “What do I owe you?”

 

“Let’s call this first one free as part of our deal” Lisbeth replied.

 

“Oh… Thank you”

 

“Don’t mention it, just make sure to keep up your end of the bargain” Lisbeth said in a stern tone.

 

“Of course, thanks again” I said while turning to leave the shop.

 

“Wait what’s your name dummy, kinda need to know if we’re going to have a business deal going on”. Lisbeth called after me.

 

“Oh right, my name is Tyzn” I replied as I opened the door and left.

 

Just after Tyzn had left Lis smacked herself on the cheeks. “Damnit Liz are you just going to do this with every cute guy who walks into your shop?” She said to herself.


	4. Breaking Point

 

Chapter 3- July 15th 2024- “Breaking Point”

68th floor- Labyrinth

 

The sounds of combat rung out around the pseudo-stone walls of the 68th floor labyrinth. Every clash of weapons and swoop of a blade echoed up and down as I fought hard against three _Void Tusks_ , Strange creatures that resembled the _Dire Tusk_ boss but had four arms and very unpredictable attack patterns.

 

They had kept me on the defensive for going on 5 minutes by this point and my arms began to tire from the never ending deflections. Normally by this point I would have worked out my opponents attacks and found a vulnerability to exploit, but these guys were proving troublesome. It was lucky that I was using the glaive that Lisbeth had forged for me, its additional speed and easier to pull off deflections had saved me several times already and if I was going to win this fight without using an emergency teleport crystal it would prove instrumental.

 

The Void Tusks managed to back me into a corner and their algorithms must have determined this was to their advantage since their attacks increased in power. However this increase in power meant a drop in speed and seeing my opportunity between strikes I planted one foot on the wall behind me and pushed off hard. As I spun over the heads of the mobs I activated a simple <<Vertical>> sword skill bringing my glaive slicing through one of the tusks. The enemy exploded in a shower of stars but the fight was not yet over. Upon landing I instantly activated another sword skill, this time a <<Horizontal Square>>. Going into a fast spin I unleased a 4 hit combo at blistering speed which obliterated another of the tusks. The final one unleashed a flurry of blows and managed to land a solid hit across my chest plate and to my dismay shaved off a quarter of my health.

 

 _Ok can’t take too many like that_ I thought to myself as the blows continued to rain down. It was after a well-timed parry which managed to block two of the tusks arms simultaneously that I saw my opening. I drew back my glaive and activated a << Rage Spike>>. In the blink of an eye I passed the remaining Tusk leaving behind nothing but a green blur. Behind me I heard the familiar sound of the death of another mob and the victory screen appeared before me. The screen stated that I had received a rare item, an _Upgrade Stone._

 

Checking my inventory I realised that it was a material used to upgrade gear which only spawns on higher floors. _Certainly explains why I haven’t heard of it before_ I thought. Then another thought rang out like hammer colliding with a gong: _Gotta get Lisbeth to take a look!_ I felt a flush of excitement, but before I grabbed my teleport crystal I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Glancing to my left I saw the huge black door of a boss room.

 

“Wow, how did I miss that I was this close” I mused. After quickly putting down a _Corridor Crystal_ I then teleported back to the assault team HQ in Marten. It wasn’t until I arrived that I noticed the sun had already gone down. However there was a lot of commotion as numerous members of the Knights of the Blood Oath came marching by. Some seemed wounded and most seemed dejected. As they went past I saw Asuna among them and hurriedly made my way to her.

 

“Hey Asuna what’s up? What’s this about?” I said as I caught up to her.

 

“Not here, meet me in the cathedral in 10 minutes” she replied while picking up the pace. Slightly confused and worried I made my way to the cathedral.

 

* * *

 

 

As promised Asuna arrived after 10 minutes and slumped down on one of the pews with a sigh. As I approached she glared up at me. At first I thought that I had done something wrong to earn her Ire, it was then that I saw the tears in her eyes.

 

“What’s happened?” I asked now very concerned about what could have rattled the great Lightning Flash Asuna.

 

“Those bastards in the Laughing Coffin…” she began, taking a pause to compose herself. “We got word of where we could find some holed up, but when we got there… it was an ambush and they had kidnapped two innocent players as bait.”

 

“Shit” was the only reply I could muster.

 

“We lost 4 members of the Blood Oath today, two were from the assault team and worst of all we couldn’t even save the players they had used to draw us in.” Asuna’s tears began flowing faster as she sobbed to herself.

 

Laughing Coffin, the murder guild, I had run into them before. These sadistic people had entirely given up on their humanity and actively hunted other players, either for money or the sheer thrill of it. This was the third time in a row that Laughing Coffin had fooled one of the larger guilds into a misstep and it had made them far bolder. I had even heard rumours of them ambushing large parties of players and making them fight to death just to please themselves.

 

I could do nothing but stand there silent. Asuna had always seemed like an unmovable object in the face of anything this game could throw at her, but now she seemed so vulnerable. After a minute or so Asuna again spoke.

 

“I’m not going to allow them to win. These bastards need to be imprisoned or taken out for good”.

 

“I agree but the way I see it, there are a few issues you’ll need to deal with first” I responded.

 

“Go on.” Asuna said as she looked to me for advice.

 

“Well first off it’s obvious that a full fighting force is not going to work against Laughing Coffin, they can just pick its members off one at a time. What is needed is a surgical strike by a specialist team with some of the best fighters we have. Second since they seem to know exactly when the large guilds are moving against them they must have spies in all of them.”

 

At that Asunas eyes went wide. “I thought that too but when I mentioned it to the commander he told me I was just being paranoid.” Asuna looked down at the floor for a few seconds before looking back up, the fire and determination she was known for again burned in her eyes. “I know what I need to do”. She stood up and nodded at me before continuing. “I’ll send you a message soon with instructions. I know you are not going to like taking orders but Laughing Coffin is too dangerous to let your pride get in the way.”

 

“Not at all, I want these guys gone as much as you do. And there’s no way I can do it alone. I’m in.”

 

Asuna nodded again before turning and walking towards the exit. She stopped before leaving and called back “Forget you saw me like that” and left.

 

 _The boss can wait_ I thought and placed the corridor crystal into my inventory.


	5. An Upgrade

 

Chapter 4- July 16th 2024- “An Upgrade”

48th floor- Lindarth

 

It felt silly how excited I was to be heading back to Lisbeth’s shop. I could feel the lightness in my step as I walked and the anxiety and stress of fighting on the frontline slip away. However I couldn’t pin down if it was because of seeing Lisbeth again or just being away from the frontlines for the first time since Lisbeth first made my Glaive. Either way it felt good and I was happy to make it last as long as possible.

 

When I finally arrived outside the shop I felt anxiety come back again. Not the usual way your stomach felt before a fight but something new. _Oh god! Don’t make a fool of yourself!_ Flashed through my mind closely followed by _Oh shit!_ As I realised that without the stresses of the frontlines all I could think about was Lisbeth.

 

Finally I managed to calm myself and push open the door to the shop. Lisbeth was already at the storefront and glanced up from behind a pile of boxes as I entered. I shone a smile her way and she jumped up.

 

“Oh it’s you! I thought you had run off with my glaive and forgot about our deal, I haven’t heard anything from you in a month after all!” she pouted whilst giving me a dagger filled stare.

 

“Of course not.” I hurriedly said whilst holding my hands up in defence. “I didn’t forget it’s just that the frontlines are pretty hectic.”

 

“Hmmm well did you bring back any cool materials then?”

 

“Of course, take a look” I said while sending Lisbeth a full inventory of what I had collected. She scrolled through the list pondering over what I had to sell. Eventually she looked back up towards me.

 

“I’ll give you 20,000 kol for the lot” she said from behind the list.

 

“How about you upgrade Whirlwind and we call it quits?” I suggested.

 

“Hmmmm…. Depends on how many levels you want it upgraded.”

 

“Well let’s say +5 levels and you apply this” I said whilst adding the upgrade stone to the list. Again Lisbeth inspected the material before a big smile appeared on her face and she let out a slight chuckle.

 

“You realise this is for shields right?  I mean look at the description, ‘ _+Armour +Durability, an upgrade stone used on shields’”_

“Yeah I read that” I replied “But that kind of upgrade best fits my fighting style”. Lisbeth let out a haughtier chuckle.

 

“Oh wow you must be the only spear-type user in the game that wants defence. That’s what your tank players are for”.

“That doesn’t help a solo player though.” This made Lisbeth laugh even harder.

 

“Well that says more about your poor gear and life choices then it does about the game mechanics.”

 

“Hey if it works then I’ll be the genius who worked out a new combat style. And you could be the master blacksmith who made it happen” I said with a smile.

 

Lisbeth seemed to ponder my answer for a few seconds. “Well whatever, point is that I don’t know if I can even apply this upgrade to anything but a shield. It could just be a waste of a material, or worse it could destroy Whirlwind!”

 

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take if you are willing to try” I replied almost grovelling.

 

“Ergh fine” Lisbeth finally said “just make sure you remember I warned you!”

 

We both headed into the workshop again and Lisbeth lined the stone up with the business end of Tempest and began hammering away. For a few strikes nothing seemed to happen and then on the fourth both items began to glow. With a final _CLANG!_ The whole glaive glowed and moulded with the stone, when it dimmed Whirlwind had become engraved with gold icons all along its blade which then twisted down the shaft in an intricate pattern.

 

“Hey it actually worked” Lisbeth said with a gleam in her eye.

 

“I had no doubt that Lisbeth, the greatest blacksmith in all Aincrad, could do it” I beamed back at her. I picked the weapon up off the anvil and admired its new design with glee before placing it on my back.

 

“Alright since that’s over with I want to alter the deal. We’re adding new rules!” Lisbeth said as I began to transfer all the promised materials into her storage.

 

“What rules?”

 

“Well, don’t call me Lisbeth, its Liz to my friends. Also, you need to return once a week so that I can maintain your equipment, I mean look at it, your armours a mess right now.”

 

I glanced down and realised that I had forgotten about the slash I had taken on the breastplate just the day before. I nodded for Liz to continue.

 

“While you’re on the frontlines you look out for Kirito and Asuna with that ‘ _New Combat Style_ ’ you have. I know those idiots are gonna get themselves into trouble but they are my friends and they worry me.”

 

That seemed an odd one to me. I knew Asuna as a great fighter who had taken on every boss with an unparalleled determination, sure she would take the occasional hit but she always came back swinging. As for Kirito, I honestly couldn’t say I’d ever seen him get hit all the bad. In fact every hit I ever see him take since the first floor was always either a deflected blow or something he allowed to happen for the perfect counterstrike. Still though I again nodded my head in agreement.

 

“Finally put an end to this world so that we can all go home. Oh and be careful on the frontlines, I don’t want you to get hurt” Liz finished sounding slightly solemn. Her concern sounded genuine.

 

“Ok, I‘ll do my best” I said giving a thumbs up.

 

Suddenly a message popped up in my view. It was from Asuna and flagged as urgent. “I’m sorry I have to go, I’m needed on the frontlines. But thank you for your help again Liz.”

 

Liz sighed, nodded and said in a stern voice “Just remember the second rule ok?”

 

Shortly after leaving Liz’s shop I opened the message which read:

 

_I’ve been talking to contacts outside the guild and have narrowed down a few locations where Laughing Coffin could be hiding. Problem is if there is spies in the guilds I can’t risk sending one of our own or another guilds scouts to check the locations out. That’s where you come in. You’re one of the few people I trust to do this and you also happen to be the best scout in the game. I’ve attached the maps I have been given and any relevant info you may need. But please be careful. I won’t rest until this is over, Asuna._

Asuna had been busy. In total six locations had been flagged as potential hiding spots for Laughing Coffin. Of those, three were flagged as probable locations. I added the first on the list, floor 42, to my map as a waypoint and headed for the teleport plaza.


	6. Hunting the Hunters

 

Chapter 5- August 21st 2024- “Hunting the Hunters”

55th floor- Granzam

 

I’d spent the last month and half hunting down leads. The leads that Asuna found all turned up bust and the search had been gruelling with many close shaves. It was clear that the only way to secure information was to capture a guild member alive, since scouting every dungeon for secret passageways and locations would take longer than it would to clear the game.

 

However this method also proved to be troublesome. I had managed to corner a few Laughing Coffin members in the field alone. But each time they realised they were trapped they would fling themselves into a fury and attack. At that point my only option is to retaliate in defence. They were exceptional fighters, I could give them that much, and every time it seemed like I could finally overpower them they would feint out of combat. This would lead to a long chase where they always seemed to slip away.

 

Unfortunately this tenacity also meant forcing a teleport to the prison or getting them to give up information was impossible. I needed a change of tactic and that meant clasping at straws and working on every longshot lead I had.

 

The lead I was currently pursuing was dubious at best but was the only option I had. An info broker I had tracked down told me of a young girl who lived in Granzam, or rather on the streets of Granzam. Rumour had it that each night she would leave the safe zone of the city via the west gate and head into the canyons beyond. When she returned she would always be sobbing and would hurry back out of sight.

 

There could be many reasons for someone behaving this way, but being right under the nose of The Knights of the Blood Oath’s headquarters? It seemed like the best lead I had. My plan was simple, I would wait near the gate, just outside of the <<Detection>> skills range to counter the <<Hiding>> skill and then follow the girl to see exactly what was going on. Of course if she also had a maxed out Hiding skill I wouldn’t be able to see her leave, but this was the best idea I had. I had climbed one of the towers just off to the side of the gate and waited for what felt like days.

 

Eventually my patience paid off. As promised I saw a young girl, probably only 12 or 13, leave through the gate and hurry down the road. Having little time to react I leapt from the tower to the wall below and then to the floor beneath it. Beeps greeted me on each landing as I took fall damage, but each only took away a small portion of HP. I thought that I had lost the girl for a moment as she headed into some canyons, but my tracking was still picking up her footprints. Three scenarios came to mind.

 

  1. This wasn’t a member of Laughing Coffin but simply a girl with another agenda.
  2. She was very sloppy and hadn’t activated her Hiding skill.
  3. She was actually leading me into an ambush.



 

Either way it was my best chance to get some answers. It wasn’t long before I caught back up to her. I almost ran straight into detection range but even without relying on my own tracking skill to see her clearly, my natural eyes picked up her silhouette just ahead and I managed to stop in time. She had stopped in the middle of a canyon with no discernable features.

 

For minuets she just stood there, not moving as if seemingly turned to stone. Suddenly two more shadowy silhouettes dropped from the cliff top landing either side of her, still the girl didn’t not move. Some words were exchanged between the three, but from this distance I had no hope of telling what, and to get closer would risk getting caught.

 

As suddenly as they had arrived the two new figures shot into the air and disappeared leaving the girl alone again. She began to sob and turned to run back to the city. I chose this moment to make my move.

 

As she headed to hurtle past me I stretched out my arm, just as she made contact I uttered ‘teleport’. The crystal in my hand shone brightly and in a flash both of us materialised in a cell within the Black Iron Palace on floor one.

 

The girl let out a startled gasp and fell to floor. She began to wail and sob uncontrollably. In a high, pleading voice she wailed “No! No! Please... I’ve done what you asked please don’t… Please!” I felt a feeling like a hammer blow in my chest. _Have I teleported an innocent player to this awful place?_ I thought. I then thought back to how Laughing Coffin operated, deception was key to all of their tactics and this could just be another ruse. At the same time I could hardly interrogate a young girl who was innocent as if she were a criminal. In the end I went with my heart.

 

“It’s ok” I said. “I’m not with Laughing Coffin, I just want to ask some questions and then you are free to go.” The girl glanced up at me for a second, just long enough to confirm that I was telling the truth.

 

“No! You don’t understand, they will find me! I’ve been caught and… and.” She continued her crying. But I had no choice, I had to push on. I knelt on the floor next to her.

 

“Listen I know you’re scared but I promise that I’ll let nothing happen to you. Me and my friends are going to take Laughing Coffin down but we need your help to do it. And I’m sorry to put it this way but if they already know you’ve been captured and they intend to… well… then we need to act fast.”

 

The girls crying steadily slowed to sobs and she nodded at me while keeping her eyes fixed on the ground. I put my hand on her shoulder and asked in a gentle tone “What’s your name?”

 

“T-Tori” she sputtered out.

 

“Good to meet you Tori, I’m Tyzn”. The girl didn’t react, she just continued to sob quietly. “So Tori, I’m looking for where the Laughing Coffin base is located and wondered if you knew.” The girl shook her head slowly before letting out a barrage of sobs. Once she had composed herself again I continued. “Can I ask how did you become mixed up with them?” Tori sat quietly for a long moment.

 

“They… they attacked me and my friends…” her crying began to rear back up as she spoke. “My friends, they… they died”. With that the crying returned but she pressed on. “Then they told me if I wanted to live that I would help them”.

 

“Gathering information on the guild and its movements?” I asked as calmly as I could. A nod was the reply. As my mind churned on the information it seemed more likely that this would be a dead end. But then a spark of a chance ignited in my mind. “Where were you attacked?”

 

“The 32nd floor… in the dungeon”

 

“And how many of the guild attacked you?”

 

“I don’t know… but lots of them”

 

“More than three or four?” Tori nodded in response.

 

There it was, the key to finding them. The largest groups that attacked guilds were only four members strong, it played well into their hit and run tactics. Why would a gang larger than that be needed to take on an obviously inexperienced group? Unless of course Laughing Coffin were there all along and Tori’s group got too close for comfort.

 

“Tori, you did great. I’m just going to message a friend, she will protect you for now I promise.”

 

“Nobody can. You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep” Tori retorted whilst sobbing. I put my hand on her chin and lifted it to look me in the eyes. She avoided making eye contact for a while before eventually giving in.

 

“I always keep my promises Tori, I will keep you safe” I said as sincerely as possible. I needed her to believe me, I had seen too many people die, and I wasn’t going to lose another. She must have believed me though since she jumped forwards and hugged me tightly. The tears began to flow again as I returned the hug with one arm. With the other I composed a message.

 

_Asuna,_

_I think I’ve found Laughing Coffin. I need a safe house for an informant. We should meet in the town of the beginnings immediately to discuss the info I’ve gathered. Tyzn._

It was a short message but it seemed more prudent to explain to Asuna in person. The return message came far faster than I expected. _Asuna must still have been awake, Guess there really is no rest until Laughing Coffin are gone._ I thought.

 

_That’s good to hear, meet you at the plaza in 5 minutes. Asuna._

 

I tapped Tori on the shoulder and whispered to her. “I’ve got a friend coming to talk, we should go to meet with her.” Tori’s hug became tighter. “Don’t worry I trust her with my life and she is one of the strongest fighters in the game.” Tori backed out of the hug and went back to staring at the floor nodding slightly.

 

I stood up and reached my hand out to Tori with a smile. She took my hand without a word and we headed to the plaza.

 

* * *

 

When we finally arrived Asuna was already waiting. It had been less than five minutes so she must have been desperate to get this over with. “Hey Asuna, this is Tori” I said as I approached. Tori moved slightly behind me and Asuna glared at the girl. There was a look in her eye like Asuna wanted nothing more than to strike her down. I raised a hand to Asuna and in an assertive tone said “First off she was forced to work with laughing coffin on fear of death and second I wouldn’t have any of the information I have now if it wasn’t from her. So put away the game face and listen to what I know.” Asuna’s glare shifted up to me.

 

I hadn’t seen this look in her eye since the early days when she drove herself into exhaustion to get stronger and clear the game. That all changed when we cleared the 59th floor, whatever had happened there had given her a new lease on life. But now this saga with laughing coffin had bought back the old Asuna. I found myself longing to have the new Asuna back, the one who I called friend rather than just an ally. _If she attacks Tori will I be able to block it_ I found myself thinking. It was a truly horrible feeling.

 

Luckily the new Asuna broke free. Her gaze became gentler and she let out a slight gasp. “You’re right, I’m so sorry Tori.” I realised that my body had adopted a stance ready for a fight and loosened back up with a sigh. _Thank god!_ I thought. Asuna looked back to me. “I’m sorry, I just need to end this as soon as possible. Three more people were killed by the guild today.”

 

 _Three more?_ I felt my anger swell. _These bastards are gonna pay_. I let out a sigh in an attempt to lock the anger down, for now at least. “Well here’s what I know” I began as I recited to Asuna all that Tori had told me and the conclusions that I had made.

 

Once I was finished Asuna contemplated for a second before saying “I agree. I’ll collect together all the people I can trust. Tori can stay at my home when we head to assault the dungeon. I’ll put it in lockdown and she will be safe.”

 

Tori recoiled at the idea, obviously still terrified. I looked back at her with a smile. “Don’t worry, remember my promise, it’s the best way to keep you safe and as soon as I am back I’ll protect you myself.” Still looking at the ground Tori nodded.


	7. An end to a Guild

 

Chapter 6- August 22nd 2024- “An end to a Guild”

55th floor- Selmberg

 

The next morning I met with Asuna at her home in Selmberg. We both reassured Tori and Asuna let her inside. “Feel free to raid the pantry” Asuna said “I’ve made up some food especially for you”. Once Tori was inside Asuna activated the locks on the house. This kind of player home protection would prevent a player other than the owner from entering or leaving the house. Chances are this protection cost about as much as the player homes on this floor themselves.

 

Asuna and I walked in silence, I wanted to ask about the plan but knew better than to ask in such an open place. We teleported to the 32nd floor and made our way just short of the dungeon entrance. A group of players had gathered just out of sight and I recognized the heraldry of multiple guilds from the assault team among them.

 

We passed by the group and slightly further on before rounding a corner and catching glimpse of The Black Swordsman leaned against a tree. “Hey Kirito” Asuna said in a voice just above a whisper. “Has anyone been in or out of the dungeon?”

 

Kirito shook his head. “Nope, it’s been all clear since I got here. What is this about Asuna?”

 

“Come with me and I’ll explain” Asuna said turning back down the trail. Kirito and I fell in step behind her. As we rounded the corner the rest of the team all looked up and Asuna spoke.

 

“I know you are wondering why I called this team together so I’ll cut to the chase. We believe that this is where Laughing Coffin is holed up and we intend to flush them out and deal with them for good. Our job is to arrest them if we can but if not, show no mercy.”

 

A murmur fluttered through the crowd for a moment. Some faces betrayed scepticism, others anger and a few fear.

 

“The plan is to have Tyzn and Kirito near the front, they are our best trackers and have the highest chance of finding them. Our shield users will also form at the front and sides to protect our flanks. We are going to sweep the dungeon floor by floor until we find the bastards. Is this all clear?”

 

Another murmur reverberated, this one in agreement. Asuna nodded and gave the command “let’s fall out.”

 

We had been in the dungeon for nearly two hours. With this many skilled players in a low level dungeon like this mobs posed no real threat and were quickly dispatched. As we continued our march down one of the corridors a cry came from my side. It was Kirito shouting “Ambush!”

 

The fight began in an instant. I managed to bring the blade of Whirlwind high just in time to block an axe that would have cleaved my head in two. To absorb the blow I spun on my heel and on the return of the spin cut low tripping the Coffin. I didn’t have time to think though as a dagger wielder came in from my left. He was too close to use the bladed end of my weapon so I jutted out with the shaft, catching him square in the chest and sending him tumbling. There was no respite at all as attacker after attacker rained down on us. I watched in dismay as two of the assault team were cut down by a large group of coffins who just cackled manically as the pair exploded into crystals. Then another member of the assault team was tackled off the platform and fell into the abyss.

 

I felt a swell of anger in my chest. A burning which ignited into an inferno. Letting out a guttural cry I leaped forwards at the nearest coffin and hit him with such force that my glaive nearly passed straight through him. With his body now in pieces I looked for a new target. I saw Kirito duelling with two swordsman and a second coffin approaching from behind brandishing a cleaver. Kirito was managing to hold the two off so I selected the cleaver wielder and unleashed a <<Rage Spike>> to intercept. Stopping between him and Kirito, the Cleaver swung around cutting deep into my shoulder. However this was a hit I was willing to take as he was left wide open to a vertical strike which sent him reeling. I followed up with another attack which sent him off the edge of the platform. I turned back to Kirito to see him cut down one of the swordsmen.

 

The battle raged on, but it seemed we were finally getting the upper hand. Eventually we beat the coffins back but when all was said and done only three surrendered. We had lost 11 players in the fight but the coffins had suffered greater losses. As the battle ended I sat down and reached into my coat and pulled out a healing potion. It was only then that I realised in my rage fuelled state I hadn’t been watching my HP. The bar was deep in the red, one more hit would have finished me. As a solo player it was dangerous to let your HP drop to those kind of levels.

 

Kirito appeared next to me and leant against a nearby pillar. “Thanks for the save back there. I saw you jump in to take a blow meant for me” he said.

 

“No problem, you’ve saved my arse more than once, I’m not close to even yet.”

 

“After this fight I’m pretty sure we are” Kirito retorted.

 

The sound of footsteps rang out as Asuna came charging down towards Kirito and I. She leapt at Kirito and pulled him into a tight embrace.

 

“Thank god you’re both ok, you two had me worried” she said to us both.

 

Kirito seemed taken aback by the affection. I couldn’t help but smile at the scene. It was then that it dawned on me. The 59th floor, when Asuna had got her new attitude towards enjoying life. Both Asuna and Kirito had disappeared from the frontline at the same time. As the pieces fell into place I let out a haughty laugh.

 

The two swapped their attention to me and Asuna jumped back from her embrace of Kirito. “And what’s so funny huh?” Asuna snapped at me.

 

“Oh nothing, just you two make a cute couple.” At that both of them looked shocked and tried to look as disgusted as possible. Yet it just made it all the more obvious it was just both of them trying to deny their feelings.

 

“What, him? No way, he acts like an impulsive child.”

 

“Oh yeah? Better than having that stick up my backside!”

 

“If you’re not careful I’ll take that stick and beat you with it!”

 

I couldn’t help but laugh again at this display, interrupting their feud.

 

“Ergh, whatever” Asuna shouted. “You two are too dumb to realise that solo players are in so much danger on the front lines now and still you just refuse to join a guild. I honestly don’t know why I bother caring about if you two are ok anymore.” She stormed off pouting and Kirito followed along saying “hey wait up Asuna, I’m doing fine on my own.”

 

I decided to let them continue this without me and checked on my gears condition. It was then I realised that a blow I took in the battle must have been made with a special degradation weapon. My chest piece was down to just 106/1600 HP.

 

 _Damn_ I thought. _Liz is gonna be pissed._ It was then I realised the date. _Oh crap I haven’t been back to Liz in two weeks!_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of more chapters uploaded. I'm hoping to get some time to go through and finish up a few more chapters this weekend so hopefully will be posting some more then :)


	8. Revelations

 

Chapter 7- August 23rd 2024- “Revelations”

48th floor- Lindarth

 

I slowly made my way back to Lisbeth’s smith shop, torn between sprinting my way there to see her again and running the opposite direction to avoid the scorn I was going to receive. As I meandered my way around the waterways I received a message from Asuna.

 

_Hey, just thought I’d let you know I’ve set up Tori in a new home in Algade. I know a merchant there who is going to keep an eye on her for us. It was the least I could do after how I treated her after all the help she gave us. Let me know when you are back on the frontlines and enjoy your time with Liz ;)._

_Asuna_

I felt a rush of relief hit me as I thought about how Tori was safe but something was off.

_Wait what did she say at the end? How the hell does she know about me going to Liz? And what exactly does she think me and Liz are up to? Has Liz said something to her about me? Or is it just that she’s seen me leave there and is trying to taunt me after what I said to her and Kirito?_

My mind was abuzz with questions and implications of that message. Whatever the reasons my pace quickened.

 

I pushed my way into Lisbeth’s shop and nearly fell straight over a small wooden crate inside. The floor was strewn with piles of weapons and half-filled boxes. The door to the workshop swung open and Liz came in carrying another box full of things. She placed it on the counter top and then snapped her neck around to me with a screech.

 

“Whoa what the hell don’t sneak in here like that!” she screamed.

 

“It’s not my fault you can’t hear your own bell” I chuckled. Liz deftly pounced over the boxes and weapons on the floor and grabbed me by the collar, staring angrily at me.

 

“What happened to the second rule huh?” she asked in a raised tone.

 

“I’ll have you know I was just in fight yesterday alongside Kirito and probably saved his life!”

 

“That’s the third rule you dummy!” Liz screamed followed by a thump on the chest.

 

“Ow! Ok I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy trying to track down Laughing Coffin.” Liz’s eyes went wide and her mouth opened slightly in shock.

 

“L-Laughing Coffin, the murder guild?” She asked almost trembling.

 

“Yeah…” I responded confused.

 

 _THUMP!_ She punched me square in the chest again, except harder this time.

“You god-damn reckless idiot. Are you trying to get yourself killed? If they find out you are following them they will kill you!”

 

“Whoa calm down, we took them down yesterday. That’s what the fight was.”

 

Liz let go of my collar and quietly asked. “So I know you and Kirito was there, was Asuna too?”

 

“Yeah it was her plan.”

 

Liz turned around and shrugged her shoulders. “Good god, my friends are all idiots” She said under her breath. Liz began stomping her way around the shop picking up items and putting them in storage crates.

 

“So… what’s going on Liz? Looks like a bomb went off in here.” Liz glared up at me.

 

“It’s called doing an inventory dumbass. I’ll melt down anything too low level to be in demand now to make something better.”

 

“Oh, well do you need a hand?” I asked, trying to work my way back into her good graces.

 

“You know what after all the stress you just caused you can. Anything over there” she said pointing to a pile of a weapons “Can go into the crate next to them.” I nodded and got to work.

 

After a few hours the shop was almost tidy again. Liz hadn’t said much at all but I was content to just be in the same room as her. ‘ _God you’re such a loser’_ I could hear my older brother say in the back of my mind.

 

Liz suddenly broke my train of thought by asking “So are Kirito and Asuna ok?”

 

“Yeah they’re good, they seem to finally be coming to terms with the fact that they like each other.” I said mockingly. I saw Liz flinch slightly at that, which quickly wiped the smile from my face. “What’s up?”

 

“Nothing” Liz replied “that’s good for them, they both deserve to be happy.” Something was clearly wrong and it took me a few seconds to parse what it was. Then it hit me in the gut like a freight train. _Liz fancies Kirito!_ I guess it was always a little naive of me to think that a girl like Liz could like a guy like me. But even so it still hurt. _Just man up and get back to work!_ I heard in my head as I finished filling the last crate.

 

Once it was all done Liz asked to see my gear for maintenance. When she saw the state of my chest piece she gave me a glare and shook her head. “Wow you assault team guys are all so reckless” she said whilst repairing all my gear.

 

As I equipped the last of my newly repaired gear I forced a smile and said “Thanks again Liz, I promise one week from now I’ll be back.”

 

“You better because next time you’re late I might refuse you service” she said with a wave. As the door closed behind me I took a deep breath and walked on. _No time to wallow in self-pity_ I told myself.


	9. A Gift

Chapter 8- October 26th 2024 – “A Gift”

48th floor- Lindarth

 

It was time to return to Liz once again for repairs and to drop off some materials, this time I had something special though. As I walked along I inspected the special item called <<Inferno Coal>>. The description read:

 

_A special item used to upgrade a blacksmithing furnace. Higher temperatures allow for higher quality weapons to be made and stronger upgrades to be applied._

I had found it for sale on a traveling merchant NPC on floor 74. Those kind of merchants only ever carried a single rare item, and the chances of even finding a vendor were slim. But when I saw the item in the NPC’s inventory I knew that it was something that Liz would like. I may have given up on winning her heart but she was still my friend and perhaps it would help soften the blow to her that was likely when she had heard of Asuna and Kirito getting married. That is assuming she had heard.

 

The bell chimed out as I entered the store. Liz stood behind her counter reading something and glanced up as I entered. “Hey” she said with an unexpected smile “how are you?”

 

I was taken aback by how chipper she seemed but it still warmed my heart all the same. “I’m good thanks, I’ve picked up some more drops that you might have use for. Nothing too fancy though.” I thought I’d hold onto the coal as a surprise for now as I added the other materials to the transfer window.

 

As usual she checked over the list before coming to a sum of Col and accepting the trade. After the items transferred to her inventory Liz looked back up with a smile. “So what news do you have from the front?” she asked.

 

“Well I’m sure you heard about Kirito’s dual wielding skill beating the Gleam Eyes and then his fight with Heathcliff right?”

 

“Duh, everyone knows about that. Hell I knew about Kirito’s new skill before anyone else.”

 

“Well we’ve only just started to clear floor 75, strange thing is though there doesn’t seem to be a field boss like there has been on almost every other floor. It seems even odder considering this is the third quarter floor.”

 

Floor 25 and floor 50 had been hard battles to clear. Many players had died in the attempts to clear them and it was believed that it was part of the game that every 25 floors was going to be a tough fight.

 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Liz asked.

 

“Well sure it sounds like it should be but I’m not sold. It could be that the challenge inside the dungeon is even more dangerous.”

 

Liz went quiet whilst pondering what I just said. Eventually she smiled again and asked “Well what do Asuna and Kirito make of it?”

 

“I don’t know, I haven’t had the chance to talk to them.”

Liz looked confused and asked in return “I thought you guys had your assault team meetings to discuss this stuff?”

 

“We do but Kirito and Asuna have taken a leave of absence from the Knights of the Blood Oath and the front lines.”

 

“Wait why would they do that? They aren’t the sort to give up at all.”

 

 _Here it is_ I thought to myself _. If she does care for Kirito like how I think, this is going to leave her upset. But she is bound to find out eventually, she is their friend after all._ I sighed and said “Well they went to get married”. I waited for a shocked look or some crying to start but instead I was greeted by nothing, Liz just stood there for a second like she was parsing the information.

 

I waited with baited breath until eventually she smiled and said “Jesus Christ that took them long enough.” My jaw swung open a little. _Wait was I wrong about her feelings, this can’t be right surely_. Liz looked over at me looking confused. “What’s the matter with you?” She asked.

 

“errr… nothing” I replied recomposing myself.

 

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost” I shook my head while Liz looked at me confusedly. “Well do you need any repairs done while you’re here” she asked finally breaking the silence.

 

“Oh that reminds me actually” I said pulling up the <<Inferno Coal>> into a transfer window. “I found this on a vendor and thought you could use it.”

 

Liz stared intently at the item and its description before looking back at me wide eyed. “I didn’t know you could upgrade a furnace.”

 

“Apparently you can, take it as a gift. It’s only gonna benefit me too after all” I said with a smile.

 

* * *

 

 

The repair work didn’t take long and after all was done Tyzn made his thanks and left the shop. Liz stood for a while in her shop alone pondering about Kirito.

 

_I’m actually happy for them. Go figure. Maybe I’m finally over him afterall._


	10. The Trouble with Guilds

 

Chapter 9- November 5th 2024 “The Trouble with Guilds”

75h floor- Labyrinth

 

I had been trying to clear and map this labyrinth for nearly three weeks straight. As a solo player at this level staying alive was hard, let alone mapping a dungeon. The monster attack algorithms and patterns were hard to decipher to say the least and even two battles against the same mob were wildly different. I spent most of my time on the defensive just trying to survive encounters. If it hadn’t been for my style of fast counter attacks I likely would’ve been perpetually trapped in a never ending defensive fight, destined to be killed when I made a single mistake.

 

It should have been time to call it quits and join a guild, yet I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Maybe Asuna was right and I was just too stubborn or stupid to be able to, I was now the last solo player on the frontlines since Kirito joined the Order of the Blood Oath after all.

 

Perhaps the largest obstacle was actually the way I conducted myself when it came to people I would call friends. In the real world I was a loner and even in here I could count the people I would call a friend on one hand, hell on three fingers. Somehow it just didn’t seem right to join a guild to fight day in day out with people I barely knew. So I continued to push on as a solo player.

 

As I rounded a corner I came to yet another set of stairs. Compared to other labyrinths this one was just huge. It seemed to have never stopped climbing higher and at this point had it conformed to real world physics I would have passed the next floor entirely. Or so it felt anyway. However this proved to be the last of the steps as at the top an ominous black door loomed. “Finally” I whispered to myself as I readied the corridor crystal and teleported out.

 

* * *

 

Materialising back in Granzam I started to make my way up the winding path to the steel tower, the home of the Order of the Blood Oath. Normally I would take map data to Asuna, but she and Kirito were off on their honeymoon so it only seemed right to drop it at off at the strongest guilds headquarters. As I approached the large gates a single player standing guard halted me.

 

“What’s your business with the Guild?” he asked. It seemed to me like this player was taking his role very seriously but I had never seen him on the assault team so I figured he was an intermediate player.

 

“I’ve got map data to share and a corridor crystal to the boss room” I replied. Perhaps in hindsight I should have been a little more cautious with the information but at this point I just wanted to be rid of it.

 

The player looked shocked and eventually stuttered out “C-come with me”. He escorted me within the tower and then up a staircase. _I never want to see another set of stairs ever!_ I thought to myself. “Wait here” he ordered as we made our way up to a large wooden door. The player knocked quietly and entered. As I waited for his return I looked at my surroundings. The walls were covered in large flags with the guilds icon embossed on them and the floor had a pristine looking red rug laid out. To me this all just seemed too grandiose. _See this is part of the reason I’m solo_ I thought to myself _Guilds really do take themselves too seriously_.

 

Eventually the guard returned through the doors. “The council will see you now” he said, holding the door open. As I entered I noticed how this room was even flashier then the last. The walls were covered in large windows and banners hung from the ceiling. At the other end of the room was a table, behind which five people sat. The only one I recognised was the man in the middle though, Heathcliff. The leader of the Blood Oath and a skilled player in his own right. I had always wondered why he was absent at so many boss fights given his skills.

 

“I know you” Heathcliff said as I approached. “You are a member of the assault team correct?”

 

“I am, we’ve fought together against every boss fight you have turned up to”. Upon saying that the other four men behind the desk grumbled but Heathcliff remained silent. “I’m just here to drop off map data and the teleport crystal to the boss room” I continued.

 

“Very good, we’ll send a scouting party right away to assess the boss”.

 

“I wouldn’t do that” I interjected. Again I got grumbles in response before Heathcliff put up his hand.

 

“And why is that?” he asked.

 

“The last boss wouldn’t allow players to teleport out, if this one has the same mechanic your scout team could be killed before being able to escape. Hell there’s probably even more traps inside.”

 

Heathcliff was silent for a while before responding. “We’ll send twenty players from the assault team, that should be sufficient to scout the boss, protect each other and exit the room without any casualties.” The other members nodded in response. “You may leave now, thank you for the information.”

 

I turned to leave the room but my desire to speak my mind overpowered me. “I think you’re making a big mistake” I said through gritted teeth.

 

My response came from one of the four other ‘Council’ members. “If you want to have a hand in decision making then you should talk to your guild leader. But since you are a solo player that isn’t an option now is it?” Every fibre of my being wanted to shout back at the man, to defend myself for being solo. But at this point I had given up on defending myself. All this experience had proved was that being in a guild was not for me. So solo I would stay.


	11. A Final Preparation

 

Chapter 10- November 6th 2024 – “A Final Preparation”

48th floor- Lindarth

 

I had decided to head back to Liz for some maintenance on my equipment and in the hopes that it would help me clear my mind. However no matter what I did I couldn’t shake the feeling that the situation on the frontlines was becoming dangerous. Not just with Heathcliff’s decision, but since I saw that boss room door I’ve had a feeling of dread looming over me.

 

I entered into the familiar sight of Liz’s shop and was greeted by Hanna, the NPC assistant that Liz had hired.

 

“Where is Liz?” I asked.

 

“I’m sorry Lisbeth is out right now but I’m sure that I can help you” the NPC said with a smile. It was always eerie how the NPC’s could act so human at times. More than once I had forgotten that they were just computer programs.

 

“That’s ok I’ll just wait for her” I leant back against a wall and let out a long sigh. When I looked back up Hanna was just standing behind the counter watching me with a smile on her face.

 

After an hour or so Liz came in through the door with a box in her arms and upon seeing me said “Oh hey how long have you been here?”

 

I was still deep in my own thoughts so just shrugged my shoulders.

 

“Well are you here for repairs then?”

 

“Yeah just a simple patch up this time.”

 

“Cool lets go the workshop” she said with a smile. Normally that beautiful smile would wipe away any doubts or fears that I had. But this time it seemed to have little effect. We entered the workshop and I placed my damaged items on the table as usual. Liz inspected each one.

 

“This all seems in better condition then what you usually bring back. I take it there is a boss fight coming up?” Liz said while picking up Whirlwind.

 

“Yeah I found it yesterday.”

 

“Oh so whens the raid?”

 

Again I just shrugged my shoulders in response. Liz slowly walked around the table until she was directly in front of me, positioned just right to be between me and the patch of floor I had been staring at. She looked up at me with concern in her eyes.

 

“What’s up?” she asked in a calm and caring voice. To my surprise this helped to calm my nerves slightly.

 

“I’m… I’m not sure this boss fight is going to go well.”

 

“What makes you say that?”

 

“I dunno… just a vibe I have. I can’t shake the feeling that this is going to go badly. And no one on the assault team seems to want to listen.”

 

“Because you are a solo player?”

 

“Probably.” We both stood in silence for a while. Liz was the first to speak up again.

 

“Have you spoken to Kirito or Asuna yet?”

 

“No, they’re still away but I have no doubt they will be back when the fighting starts.”

 

I had shifted my gaze to the floor just off to the side of Liz, it felt like the only thing I could do to prevent myself bursting into tears. Liz raised a hand to my cheek and moved my face back to hers. Looking worried herself as she stared into my eyes she spoke in a quiet voice.

 

“You need to talk to them when you see them, explain to them everything you told me. Tell them that I want you three to watch out for each other, now more than ever.” Tears began to form in Lisbeth’s eyes as she spoke. “I want to see all three of you after the fight, you hear?”

 

All I could do was nod in response. I knew that if I tried to speak Liz would hear the crack in my voice.

 

“Good now let’s get this gear fixed up” she said.


	12. The End of the World

 

Chapter 11- November 7th 2024- “The End of the World”

75h floor- Corinea

 

As predicted the call to assemble arrived on the morning of the 7th. However instead of being a call to arms from Asuna as usual, this one came directly from Heathcliff’s account. The assault team was to meet in the town of Corinea, the major settlement of the 75th floor.

 

As I waited in the plaza I tried to push down the feelings of anxiety that I had and psyche myself up for the battle. Usually this was a simple process, so practiced by this point that I wouldn’t even have to do it consciously anymore. But this time was different.

 

I heard the sound of the teleport gate activate and looked around to see Kirito and Asuna step out of it hand in hand. I made my way to them as briskly as I could without sprinting. Asuna was the first to spot my approach and held up a hand as I came nearer.

 

“Hey Tyzn, how have you been?” she asked with a smile.

 

“We need to talk” I interjected.

 

Asuna must have seen something written all over my face as rather than chastising my bluntness a genuine look of concern crossed her own face and she nodded.

 

“I’ve had a bad feeling about this boss for a couple of days now, after the last one having a teleport blocker I’ve gotta believe that this one will have one too.”

 

Kirito stepped closer and asked “You didn’t hear about the scouting team?” My eyes went wide. _Oh god what happened?_   “Heathcliff sent a party of 20 to scout the boss, but when the first 10 in hit the centre of the room the doors closed. When they opened again the team was gone.”

 

“That idiot!” I shouted a little too loudly. This caused Kirito to recoil slightly and Asuna gave me a grimaced look. All around me people stopped and stared in my direction, but my seething anger blocked out my concern about it. In a more hushed tone I continued “I told him it was too dangerous to scout the boss!”

 

“Wait you spoke to the commander?” Asuna asked confusedly.

 

“Yeah I gave him the map data to the door, it made sense at the time but now… now ten people are dead because of it”

 

“Don’t blame yourself” Kirito said trying to console me “its Heathcliff who sent them not you.”

 

“Even so I don’t like our chances against this boss. We have no idea what its attacks or weaknesses are and now it is going to trap the whole assault team in with it. I dunno I just have a bad feeling.”

 

Kirito placed his hand on my shoulder. “Yeah I’ve had a bad feeling about this for a while too.”

 

Just then a message popped up in front of me.

 

_Asuna has invited you to join her party._

 

Both I and Kirito looked bewildered at it for a moment before simultaneously looking up at Asuna.

 

“Oh don’t give me that look” she said, “just think about it. The three strongest players in the Assault Team in one party watching each other’s backs, whatever this boss throws at us we can handle it.”

 

A big smile formed on Asuna’s lips and she flashed us both the victory sign. _I must admit she makes a good point_ I thought to myself. I began to feel the anxieties slip away at last. _With Asuna, Kirito and me working together we should be unstoppable._

 

I looked at Kirito who just smiled and nodded in return. I let out a long sigh and pressed the accept button. Asuna and Kirito’s health bars appeared in my vision and I couldn’t help but smile for the first time in days.

 

Two other players came walking up to us, Agil and Kline. I knew them as capable fighters but little else, however Kirito and Asuna seemed to know them well as they spoke and laughed together. I chose this opportunity to finish preparing mentally for the fight. It was much easier now that the fog of unease had lifted.

 

As always I began with my battle plan, deflecting certain attacks while countering others etcetera. However this boss was an unknown so knowing which attacks it would use was impossible. I felt the fear begin to creep into my mind again but then I heard a voice that sounded strangely like Liz say ‘ _Just keep it simple dummy’._

I looked around but couldn’t see Liz anywhere, _must just be my mind playing tricks on me._ But still that advice was sound. If I didn’t know the attacks then it would be best to stay defensive and allow others to keep up the attack. I then remembered what Liz had said the day before ‘ _I want you three to watch out for each other_ ’. Finally my battle plan formed, I had to protect Kirito and Asuna with everything I had.

 

* * *

 

Before long we stood outside the boss room. As the other fighters strategized among themselves our small party stood in silence. We had fought alongside each other so many times and fought so many battles that we each knew what had to be done in the moment.

 

Kirito stood completely still, a vacant look on his face. _He hadn’t lied about also being anxious_ I thought. Asuna moved closer to Kirito and whispered something in his ear before moving back slightly and then speaking loud enough for me to also hear.

 

“I won’t let anything happen to you, promise. Make sure you protect me too ok?”

 

“Yeah, you know I will” Kirito replied with a smile. I couldn’t help but smile too. You could almost feel the love that the two of them shared radiating outwards, washing away any fear that I had. Asuna turned and smiled towards me too.

 

“And Tyzn too of course.”

 

I nodded in response returning the smile. At last any fear I had was replaced with a new drive and focus. _I will protect them with every ounce of energy I have!_

 

Suddenly the Boss door opened up and as one the raiding party charged into the room drawing our weapons. Fanning out like a well-trained army the separate parties all took their positions around the room. However there was no boss in sight. Behind us the doors slammed shut.

 

I stood still and focused my mind for any sense of movement. Both me and Asuna heard it at the same time and shot our eyes skyward.

 

“Up there!” Asuna called.

 

Above us was a centipede made of bones with a huge head and two massive scythes. The _Skull Reaper_! As it descended two players stood frozen in fear. “This way! Run!” Kirito called to them but as they turned to flee they were struck by the giant scythes and sent flying. Asuna and Kirito stepped forwards in an attempt to catch them only to have their bodies disintegrate as their HP hit zero.

 

One hit was all it took to eliminate two high rank players! I felt my body tense in fear for a second but as I saw Kirito sprint forwards to block a blow meant for another player my battle trance kicked in. Without any hesitation I sprung forwards into a leap and blocked the other scythe from swinging straight for Kirito.

 

Suddenly Asuna fired a sword skill between Kirito’s crossed swords sending the boss reeling.

 

“If we block it together we have a chance” she said to us both. “Come on we can do this.”

 

“Ok” Kirito said and I gave a nod in agreement.

 

“We’ll deal with the scythes, everyone else flank it and attack!” Kirito called to the raid party.

 

Everyone charged into action as myself, Asuna and Kirito fought to keep the boss’s agro and striking when we could. Eventually Heathcliff joined us using his shield skills to block blows.

 

The fight that followed was long and gruelling. Everyone gave it their all but despite our best efforts casualties continued to mount. As the boss’s health hit the red its movements slowed down until eventually it was a sitting duck and unable to move. It was then that our party shifted from defence to full offence, bringing all our sword skills to bear with Kirito even unleashing his <<Starburst Stream>> to finally bring the boss down.

 

With the boss finally defeated the whole assault team collectively slumped to the ground, exhausted. It was then that my mind turned to those that we had lost, those blows that I just wasn’t fast enough to stop. Those that I had seen die played over in my head. Over the thoughts I heard Kirito mention that fourteen had been killed. _Fourteen of the strongest players have died because I was too slow_ I thought to myself.

 

Without warning I felt a gust of winds beside me and saw a blur as Kirito charged, sword outstretched straight at Heathcliff. As contact was made a purple message popped up beside the Commander.

 

_Immortal Object_

Myself and Asuna jumped up and followed Kirito forwards, instinctively I drew Whirlwind as I ran.

 

“Kirito what are you…” Asuna called but as she spotted the message she quickly trailed off. Kirito then went on to explain that Heathcliff was in fact _Akihiko Kayaba,_ the games creator.

 

**(Authors note: if you ignored the spoiler warning and want to know why at this point go watch the anime/ read the short novels, I’m not going to write out the whole conversation for the sake of a fan fiction :D)**

 

Kayaba activated a mass paralysis, knocking everyone but Kirito to the ground. Whirlwind bounced on the stone floor and landed by my side, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t move my arm to reach for it. As Kayaba challenged Kirito to a duel I felt my anger build. I had promised to help protect Kiito and Asuna and now I could do nothing to help my friend as he fought against the games very creator.

 

Before engaging in battle Kirito shared words with Agil and Klein but I was too busy trying to get my arms to move and pick my weapon back up to hear what was said. However Kirito then turned to face me which brought my focus back to the room.

 

“Tyzn, you have always been a great fighter and a good friend to Asuna. Please look after her if I don’t make it, keep her safe.” A single tear formed in his eye as he asked me the question, a question that carried so much weight. I felt tears of my own form as I replied.

 

“Of course I will, I always will. But you’ll beat this bastard! I know it!”

 

Once again my focus shifted back, I had to muster all of my strength if I was to help Kirito. My fingers twitched helplessly as I tried to reach for my weapon. A sudden scream from Asuna snapped me back once more.

 

“No Kirito, that’s not fair! You can’t do that it’s not fair! NO! KIRITO!”

 

The clashing of sword and shield rang out like a cacophony of bells as Kirito sprang into action. He moved like a blur as he rained blow after blow down on Heathcliff. To my surprise Kirito seemed to gain speed with each swing yet somehow Heathcliff kept him at bay.

 

A quick slash from Heathcliff caught Kirito on the cheek, in retaliation Kirito unleashed his <<Starbust Stream>> sword skill but still he could not breach Heathcliff’s defence.

 

As Kirito pounced in for another attack the tip of his sword collided with Heathcliff’s shield and shattered. Seizing the moment Heathcliff swung his sword down. I felt another gust of wind behind me, this time followed by a red and white blur as somehow Asuna charged forward to take the blow. I watched in horror as she jumped between the two and the sword swiped down the length of her body.

 

A second later her body exploded into pixels as she died in Kirito’s arms. I let out an almighty roar as my arm finally moved and I reached for my weapon. Grasping it in one hand I went to move my legs and charge. However my legs failed underneath me and I clattered back to the ground with a thump. I looked back up to see Heathcliff bury his sword through Kirito’s chest. Then the world fell away. In less than twenty seconds two of my closest friends had just died.

 

Except, something was wrong. Rather than explode in a shower of sparks as player death usually caused, Kirito just stood there shimmering in static. Without warning he lunged forwards striking Heathcliff with Asuna’s rapier. In unison they died and the paralysis stopped.

 

I ran with all the energy I could muster to where Asuna and Kirito had died in the hopes of finding anything which could bring them back. Instead I was greeted with a barren floor. In grief I fell to the floor and began to cry.

 

Over my own sobbing I heard a game announcement.

 

_On November 7 th at 2:55 pm, the game has been cleared. Repeat the game has been cleared._

 

Then the sound of teleportation rang out and the world turned black.

 

Suddenly I felt incredibly weak, not just through grief but physically. I gradually opened my heavy eyes and was staring up at a fluorescent light which stung with a burning pain. I slowly lifted my hand to my face and saw its dishevelled form. It was then that I realised I was back in the real world.

 

This should have been a time to be happy, I’d made it back, I’d survived. Instead all I could see was Asuna and Kirito’s death over and over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This rounds up the Aincrad Arc but there is still much more to this story. The next chapter is a long one so I want to make sure to read through it a few more times before posting. Expect it soon-ish.


	13. A New Hope

 

Chapter 12- January 21st 2025- “A New Hope”

Kyoto

 

I sat bolt upright in bed yet again. Another night of broken sleep as I saw the deaths of Kirito and Asuna play on repeat. My psychiatrist had been trying to get me to forgive myself, saying that my grief was normal and that there was nothing I could do at the time. She was probably right, but that didn’t stop me feeling this tremendous guilt.

 

I had found out from the SAO Incident Task Force that most of the survivors of SAO, nearly 6,000 in number, lived in or around Tokyo. This had put a damper on my psychiatrist’s plans to have me meet with other survivors for joint therapy. However no matter what there was only three lives in SAO that I cared about in this moment. Kirito, Asuna and Liz. I had asked the representative from the task force who had interviewed me about them but they had insisted that the ware bouts and wellbeing of the other players was confidential at this time.

 

I stared up at the clock to see that it was 8:30 AM but in total I probably only had about an hours’ worth of sleep. I could hear my parents in the kitchen preparing breakfast. They had both been incredibly supportive since I had returned, it kind of made me feel like a failure that no matter what, I couldn’t get mentally better. I know they didn’t see it that way but my mind had been damaged by the ordeal and was very vulnerable to those kind of feelings.

 

Rather than face them I would spend my days trying to find out anything I could about Kirito, Asuna and Liz. After all if the government wouldn’t tell me anything I would have to dig for myself. I would spend all the time I could trying to find any information about specific players from SAO, but it seemed that the information was being tightly controlled.

 

 My psychiatrist would have a fit seeing me do this, I could hear her voice in my mind ‘ _by doing this you are only delaying your recovery. You have to accept their loss and move on’_. She didn’t understand though, I had made a promise and even while in my broken state, I intended to keep it. To that end I propped myself onto one of crutches and swung over to my computer chair nearby.

 

As my computer booted up an email notification popped up on my screen. It was from my psychiatrist and read:

 

_Dear Reo,_

_I have received a notification from the SAO Task Force that they have set up a messaging board and chat system for the survivors of SAO. I feel it prudent to explain that this information was only shared with the assigned psychiatrists of each player to share with their patients at their discretion. Whilst I do doubt that this will help at all with your PTSD, I know that one way or another, you will find out about this on your own eventually. I’ve attached a link to the server in this email, but please don’t get your hopes up._

_Yours,_

_Akita Rujeo_

As fast as my hand would move I snapped the mouse to the link and clicked. A website opened and began verifying my login credentials, which must have been embedded in the link. Once I was verified a new window popped up.

 

_Welcome Reo,_

_To better help acclimatize the users of this forum and to assist in locating any friends you may have made within SAO your username has been set to Tyzn. Please feel free to use this service at any time and consider this a private space. Any use of threats or insults will be harshly treated with on this forum and should immediately be reported to the admins._

I knew the part about privacy was bullshit. There was no way that the Task Force wasn’t going over every message with a fine tooth comb, but that didn’t matter. I had to try and find my friends.

 

As I closed the window a list of all members appeared in alphabetical order. I wasted no time in scrolling down to where Asuna’s name would be.

 

_Anulla, Aoan, Atlanta…. No Asuna._

My heart sank but I knew I couldn’t give up hope. _Kirito would know what happened to Asuna_ I thought as I continued to scroll down the list. However Kirito was also absent. I could feel my heart being torn apart all over again but then another name at the bottom of the current list caught my eye and I felt a new wave of happiness surge forth.

_Lisbeth!_

The small green icon next to her name indicated that she was currently online. Without even thinking I opened a chat window but then found myself stalled. _What the hell do I say? How do I ask about Kirito and Asuna? What if she doesn’t remember me?_ All ran through my thoughts. I stayed that way or what felt like an eternity.

 

Finally with trembling hands I typed a message.

 

_Tyzn: Hey Liz. You have no idea how happy I am to see you made it out._

Again an eternity felt like it had passed before the chat window indicated that Lisbeth was typing a message. Finally a reply came.

 

_Lisbeth: Oh my god Tyzn! I was so worried that you hadn’t woken up either or that you had died! You dummy where have you been?_

For the first time in the last two months I smiled. I still felt the hole left by Asuna and Kirito gnawing away at me though. I had to ask.

_Tyzn: I’m sorry, my counsellor only just told me about this group. Listen I don’t mean to be cruel or anything but I need to know. Have you heard anything about Kirito or Asuna?_

_Lisbeth: Yeah I have. Asuna never woke up from SAO and is still in hospital. Kirito is trying to find a way to wake her up though._

_He made it, he actually made it!_ My mind was abuzz. Kirito survived SAO and was a hero. But Asuna hadn’t come back. I had heard that everyone who died in game had been killed instantly, so if Asuna was jut asleep then she couldn’t be dead right? That must mean that one way or another there was hope.

 

_Tyzn: Wait how can Kirito wake her up?_

_Lisbeth: wait one sec._

This second seemed to last forever until eventually another lot of text appeared on screen.

 

_Lisbeth: A friend sent me this yesterday._

_Agil: Ok Liz calm down. I came across a picture of a character in ALO that looks just like Asuna, I had to show Kirito. And you know what he is like, he charged in to find out what was going on and to try to save her. But he’ll be impossible to find, and even if you knew where he was the map in this game is huge you’d never catch up. Best we can do is hope that he finds a way to wake her up._

My brain was on overdrive trying to work out what this all meant. If Asuna was spotted in another game how did she get there without logging in herself? Someone should have noticed her wake up to do that. More to the point why would she? And what if she wasn’t asleep but just still under the effects of full dive? That would explain the not regaining consciousness.

 

_Lisbeth: Are you ok? You’ve been quiet for a while._

_Tyzn: Yeah sorry just trying to work out what could have happened to Asuna._

_Lisbeth: you and me both. But if I know one thing it is that you three are stubborn. I have faith that Kirito and Asuna will be fine, we just have to wait._

_Tyzn: yeah I guess you’re right. Thanks Liz. I really did miss talking to you._

_Lisbeth: I missed talking to you too. Just don’t go telling everyone, I have a reputation to keep!_

_Tyzn: Your secret is safe with me!_

 

* * *

 

 

It had been two days since I had found out about the survivors forum as us users called it. I had spent nearly every waking hour talking to Liz and had spent some time speaking with Agil, who had met Kirito in the real world. Agil had shown me the image he’d sent to Kirito and he wasn’t wrong. Whoever that was they looked the spitting image of Asuna. I could understand why Kirito had rushed in after her and I knew if anyone could save Asuna it would be him.

 

On the home front my parents had commented on how much I had improved in just two days. Apparently the colour in my face had returned and my food intake had improved. Even my sleep had got better, although it still wasn’t perfect. I’d still wake up in a cold sweat and the deaths of Asuna and Kirito would still play over and over, but now I could also feel hope that they were ok.

 

I awoke at 9:00 am, 4 hours, the longest stretch of sleep I’d had in months. As was almost ritual now I shifted my body weight on one of my crutches to swing myself onto my computer chair from my bed. As I logged into the survivors group once again an invitation from Liz popped up almost instantly.

 

_Lisbeth has sent you an invitation to a group chat._

_Lisbeth says: Get your arse in here now!_

I couldn’t help but smile at Liz’s way with words. I could feel all the emotions swell again which I felt every time I was talking to her. _Damn_ I thought, _if I’m not chronically depressed I’m hopelessly in love._ I accepted the invite and was dropped into a group chat session. I glanced over at the list of members.

 

_Agil, Klein, Lisbeth, Silica… that one was new to me and…. Kirito….. KIRITO!!_

_Lisbeth: so Tyzn finally deemed to grace us with his presence!_

_Klein: About time you nearly missed the party!_

_Tyzn: Sorry I have to take my sleep when I can._

_Lisbeth: Well Kirito you gonna give him the good news? This sap had been real worried about you both!_

I waited with baited breath as the screen blinked ‘ _Kirito is typing a message’_.

 

_Kirito: Alright Liz give us a chance. Hey Tyzn, we’re both glad to hear you’re ok._

_Tyzn: we’re?_

I thought I knew who he meant but I didn’t want to get my hopes up.

 

_Lisbeth: who do you think he means dumbass?_

_Silica: Liz, lay off him, I’m sure he’s just as confused as we were_

_Kirito: I’m with Asuna, she’s finally back and wanted to speak to you guys, hold on I’ll type out what she says._

I couldn’t believe it, I felt a huge weight lift off me and the hole in my chest closed its final gap in an instant. Liz, Asuna and Kirito, The only real friends I’d ever had, they were all back in the real world and out of that hell. I couldn’t help but start to cry but for once they were not tears of fear, sadness or regret, but of joy.

 

_Kirito: Hey guys its Asuna. I know you will all want to know what happened but it’s a long story, I’ll tell you all another time when I’m feeling stronger. When I am better though, we all need to meet up! I miss you guys so much and I know that Kirito does too._

_Silica: I’m so glad you two are together for real!_

_Agil: I second that! We will have to arrange a big meetup at my Café when you are feeling better._

_Klein: Come on guys, you are gonna make me cry here._

_Lisbeth: You big baby_

_Tyzn: I’m so happy for you both, you guys have no idea how worried I was._


	14. Family and Recovery

 

Chapter 13- January 24th to April 11th 2025 “Family and Recovery”

Kyoto

 

January 24th

 

My eyes opened expecting to see the darkness of the night, but instead I was greeted by the red light of dawn. My clock read 8:30 am.

 

_10 hours? I actually slept for 10 hours?_

 

I then remembered the previous day, the revelation that we had all made it out of SAO. My friends were safe and the love between Kirito and Asuna bloomed again. I felt a huge smile grow on my face and hurriedly grabbed my crutches from beside my bed.

 

My stomach rumbled as I stood. It had been so long since I had been hungry, I had forgotten what it felt like. Apparently it was very common in people with anxiety and depression to not feel hunger but now the feeling was back with vengeance. It was an uncomfortable feeling yet I laughed at its presence. _It must mean I am finally free from SAO for real!_

As fast as my arms would swing the crutches I made my way down the hall to the kitchen. Inside my mum was already up and making breakfast for the family. She looked up at me when I entered the room and gasped when she saw me smiling.

 

“Hi mum, what’s for breakfast?” I asked. Without warning my mum hurtled across the room and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in a tight embrace I could feel her crying into my shoulder. I felt like I had said or done something wrong until she spoke.

 

“Oh my baby, that’s the first smile I’ve seen since you’ve come back to us! My baby is finally home!”

 

“I’m not a baby anymore mum, I’ll be eighteen soon.” She pulled herself back and held me by the shoulders. I could still see tears in her eyes but she also beamed a huge smile at me.

 

“Nonsense you are always my baby boy! Now go sit down and I’ll get you something.”

 

I sat at the table and placed my crutches against the wall. My father entered the room fixing his tie into place. When he saw me he also seemed taken aback for a second. He looked over at my mum as she wiped tears away from her eyes.

 

“What did I miss?” He asked.

 

My mum turned around to face us both and shone her huge smile. “You missed the big smile Reo had on his face. I haven’t seen him so happy in so long.” My father looked over at me smiling himself now. He took a seat opposite me and my mum bought over three plates filled with bacon, eggs and toast.

 

Without hesitation I tucked straight in. As fast as my dishevelled hands would allow I forced the food into my mouth. I heard my mum chuckle at the sight despite my breach of etiquette. As I finished off my plate of food my father cleared his throat.

 

“So Reo, I know I probably shouldn’t ask but you have me intrigued. What’s bought about this sudden change this morning?”

 

Before even speaking I felt another smile grow over my face, if I kept this up I would strain a muscle.

 

“You know how you said yesterday that I seemed like I was a bit better?” My father nodded in response. “Well when I was in SAO I made three friends. Two days ago I found out that two of those had made it safely back to the real world. But the third one, hadn’t woken up yet.” Tears formed in the corners of my eyes. My mum took these as tears of sadness.

 

“Oh honey I’m so sorry” my mum said with a look of concern. I held up my hand to stop her and continued.

 

“No its ok, my friend finally woke up yesterday and I even got to speak with her. I feel like I have finally woken up too, knowing that they are safe.”

 

My parents sat opposite me both beaming at my obvious excitement. My mother began to cry again but the smile on her face told me that she was crying with joy, just like I was now. Even my father, usually a man who reeled his emotions in, had specks of tears in his eyes. They both stood and walked to my chair, embracing me between them.

 

“Like mum said, I’m home.”

 

* * *

 

 

February 20th 2025

 

In just three weeks I had gone from a little over 40 kilos to 55 kilos. Gorging myself on food had helped but now with a new lease on life I had thrown myself full force into my physical therapy. My doctors told me that they had never seen such a turnaround in someone’s physical wellbeing. Even in this short time I had gone from a reliance on crutches to being able to walk again. I still wasn’t at the running phase but I was determined to come back far stronger than I ever was before.

 

As I laid on my bedroom floor doing sit ups I thought about the impeding return of my brother from university. He was traveling all the way from Tokyo to be with the family for my mother’s birthday which was only two days away.

 

My brother and I had never really got along. He was two years older than me and always treated me as inferior. I was little more than a butt for his jokes when we were together and our interests couldn’t be wider apart. While I enjoyed video games he liked sports, while he studied biology I studied computer science. However after all my time in SAO I actually found myself looking forward to his return.

 

As I hit my 22nd push up of the morning I head a buzz at the door and my mum hurry down the hallway to answer.

 

“Sora, it’s so good to have you home, how was the journey?”

 

“Not too bad the traffic is a nightmare though. It’s good to see you too mum.”

 

I pulled myself up again into my 23rd sit up as their conversation continued.

 

“Here honey let me put your bag in your room.”

 

“Thanks mum, where’s Reo at?”

 

“In his room, you should go say hi.”

 

I heard my brother laugh. “I should have guessed, I’ll go see him now.”

 

Footsteps approached my door as I prepared myself for a barrage of jokes and insults at my expense. I decided to just keep exercising and ignore him for as long as possible. There was a knock at the door as it swung open revealing my brother. As I pulled myself back up again I said “Hi” and lowered myself as I breathed back in.

 

“Holy shit, never thought I’d see you doing sit ups Reo!” _Here it comes_ I thought “Damn look at you, you really are getting ripped. You look better than you ever have.” _That almost sounded like a compliment._

 

As I sat up my brother made his way to my bed and sat on the end of it without saying a word. He sat for a couple of seconds before speaking again.

 

“How are you doing little brother? I mean really doing, not just what you tell mum and dad.” I was shocked at how genuine he sounded.

 

“I’m ok now, probably happier than I’ve ever been” I replied, shocked at my own honesty. I stood up and went to sit in my computer chair while stretching my back.

 

“That’s good… Listen I want to apologise to you.”

 

“For what?” I asked as leaned back.

 

“For all the shit I ever gave you when we were kids. When you were stuck in the NerveGear it scared the crap outta me. It made me regret all the things I’d said and done to you and I just wanted to have you home again.”

 

My jaw dropped open and I sat for a few seconds completely bewildered. “Wow I never expected to hear you say that, but thanks.”

 

Sora stood up and made his way over to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled “Just don’t go getting yourself stuck in another death game ok? This apologising shit takes a lot out of me.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the comment. It felt good to actually have a moment with my brother being genuine and supportive.

 

“Damn man, your shoulder is nothing but muscle now. You really should take up a sport.” Sora said. I leaned back and crossed my arms.

 

“Oh sure cause that has always worked out in the past right?” I said sarcastically.

 

I was never really interested in sports at all and back before SAO I wasn’t exactly strong or fast either. But since coming back I was definitely at least twice as strong in upper body strength as I was before the incident. _Who knows perhaps after_ _my legs gain the strength to run I would become even stronger_ I thought, although that still didn’t mean I was interested.

 

“Well you always played fighting games with swords and fists right? Why not take up a martial art? It’ll probably help with your recovery too.” Sora went on.

 

He made a good point, perhaps when I was strong enough it wouldn’t be a bad idea to learn how to fight, after all its all I had done for two years in SAO. Sure fighting in VR is wildly different than real life, but the mind-set isn’t at all.

 

“Anyway I better go unpack, it’s good to have you back Reo” My brother said as he moved towards the door.

 

“Thanks Sora, its good to have you back too”

 

* * *

 

 

March 10th 2025

 

I had told my psychiatrist about my brother’s idea for me to take up a martial art and she had agreed that it could be a good idea. However she had made it clear that should I get any aggressive thoughts or flashbacks to SAO I should quit immediately.

 

I sat at my computer searching for local dojos and trying to decide on what I wanted to do. Kendo was the obvious choice but the idea of using a proxy for a sword didn’t appeal to me. Glaives were my one true calling for a weapon. Eventually I settled on Jujutsu, its focus on defensive disarming strikes most resembled my fighting style in SAO.

 

An email notification popped up. I’d received an email from the SAO task force detailing a meeting that they wanted to arrange with me, my parents and my psychiatrist. The email was a little vague but it mentioned it was related to my education given my two years absent from the system. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door and my mother’s head peered around it.

 

“Hey Reo did you just get an email from the task force?”

 

“Yeah, do you think we should go?”

 

“Of course we should, if it’s regarding your education it’s very important.”

 

I was very wary of this task force. It always seemed to me like they were more interested in gathering information than actually helping us survivors. In fact it felt like all the ‘help’ we did get came about more as a side effect of their activities or as a ruse for them to find out something new. But if my mother was committed to talking with them I had little choice.

 

* * *

 

 

March 14th

 

My mother, father and I made our waited in my psychiatrist’s office for the arrival of the Task Force representative. My psychiatrist, Akita Rujeo, was speaking to my parents about how well I had recovered and that she was truly proud of how far I had come.

 

There was a buzz from Akita’s desk intercom and her secretary informed her of the representative’s arrival.

 

“Good, please let them in” Akita responded and the door behind us opened. A man, probably in his late twenties walked in. He wore a suit and had rectangular glasses on his face.

 

Mr and Mrs Nakamura, Reo. It’s a pleasure to meet you all” he said with a bow. “I am Seijirou Kikuoka.” He sat in the last arranged chair just off to the side of my parents before continuing. “I’m sure you are wondering what this is about so I will cut to the chase. The task force has been working tirelessly to help rehabilitate the survivors of SAO, but we’ve hit a snag when it comes to the survivors of school age. Given that they were all out of the schooling system for two years they are all far behind their peers. In order to address this we are setting up a high school designed from the ground up specifically for their needs.”

 

Kikuoka waited, obviously allowing time for my parents to think. _More like to study all of us in one place_ I thought. My father was the first to speak.

 

“Seems to me that you want them all in one place to keep an eye on them. After all there were some in there that committed or witnessed murder and death.” I was surprised at my father’s candidness and for thinking about the situation exactly as I had.

 

“I understand your reservations” Kikuoka continued “but I can assure you that while the pupils will be under observation it is only for their own safety. The ultimate goal is to help them continue their education without the pressures of being the oldest pupils in their classes.”

 

“And where would this school be?” My mother asked.

 

“Since most of the survivors are situated in Tokyo the school would be in the city.” Kikuoka said. “I know you will have reservations about this, but there are several other survivors who will be attending the school and a special campus has been set up for them with all of the support staff required to meet the needs of the pupils.”

 

“So we only just got our boy back and you want us to send him away already?” My father asked, obviously quite annoyed at the prospect.

 

“What do you think Miss Rujeo?” My mother asked my psychiatrist.

 

“I think that it is a good opportunity for Reo, Mrs Nakamura. It will take him far from home but being around fellow survivors has obviously helped him before. But ultimately I also believe that this should be Reo’s decision.”

 

The whole room turned to look at me. It was a long way to go, taking me away from my parents, but at the same time it was a great opportunity. Perhaps the saddest, yet most crucial plus point to me at the time was that there was always a chance that one of my only three friends would be attending the school. In the end that was the deciding factor.

 

“I want to go.” I eventually said. My father looked at me seeming a little hurt but to my surprise my mum seemed to understand and gave me a nod. “It’s not that I want to leave home but like Mr Kikuoka and Miss Rujeo said, it’s a great opportunity.”

 

My father’s expression changed from a look of dismay to one of genuine pride. He placed a hand on my head and said to me “If this is what you want son, we will make it happen.”

 

* * *

 

 

April 11th 2025

 

I was making my final preparations to leave for Tokyo. My room was filled with boxes and suitcases packed with the things I was taking with me. My father would be driving me to Tokyo the following day and Sora would be meeting us there to help move me in. My mother had made him promise to check up on me whenever he could and to help me if I got into trouble.

 

While I had anxiety about leaving home knowing that at least one member of my family was nearby helped relieve some of it.

 

I sat on my bed with my old laptop talking to Liz, Asuna, Kirito and Klein in the chat room.

 

_Asuna: So tomorrow is the big day Tyzn. You excited to be coming to Tokyo?_

_Tyzn: sure I am, I can’t wait to see all you guys at school._

_Lisbeth: Hey you’re gonna be staying in the hostel right?_

_Tyzn: Yeah_

_Lisbeth: Well I might bump into you there, me and Silica are both staying there too_

 

I felt excited at the thought of possibly seeing Liz sooner and meeting Silica for the first time, but unfortunately my time was already spoken for.

_Tyzn: That would be cool but I don’t know if I will get the time. It’s gonna be a long trip from Kyoto and then I’m seeing my brother on Sunday._

_Klein: you know we still need to sort out meeting up at Dicey Café, it’s not like I can see you guys at school_

_Asuna: of course we will but we can’t do it without Tyzn_

_Tyzn: you guys go ahead, I’m sure I’ll be at the next big meet-up_

_Kirito: Nah it just wouldn’t be the same. Besides Asuna is still finding it hard to get around_

_Asuna: I can get around just fine thank you!_

_Lisbeth: OOOO Trouble in paradise!_

_Asuna: oh don’t be silly._

_Tyzn: thanks guys, I appreciate the consideration. How is this survivor’s school anyway?_

_Kirito: just like any other school to be honest. It’s strange seeing someone and remembering them in the game though. Especially when you just recognise them but don’t know where from._

_Lisbeth: You think it’s bad for you front liners? Most people in the school visited my shop at one time or another, if it wasn’t for my pink hair I think everyone at the school would know who I am by now._

I had always wondered if Liz’s hair was dyed pink in the real world. I guess this finally debunked that idea.

 

_Kirito: yeah I guess you’re right_

_Klein: Wait your hair isn’t pink IRL?_

_Kirito: keep up Klein of course it isn’t_

_Asuna: hey guys let’s all meet up in the cafeteria Monday, we can have our own little party at lunch! I can make us some snacks! And then next weekend we can meet up with Klein at the dicey café_

_Lisbeth: So long as you bring some of that banana cake you made last week I’m in!_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just had to do a quick update on this chapter. I just found out that Liz and Silica also live in the schools hostel, so I had to rewrite quite a few chapters as a result.
> 
> This could cause a delay with the release of the next couple of chapters :(


	15. The First Day

 

Chapter 14- April 14th 2025 “The First Day”

SAO Survivors School

 

 

The hostel which had been set up for the survivors attending the school was actually rather impressive, I was expecting it to be shared rooms but each pupil had their own space.

 

It seemed to be an old converted hotel of sorts, with each of the living spaces consisting of three rooms. Behind each door was a small living room which had a single chair, a two seat sofa, a sink and a small fridge. The second room had a toilet and shower, while the last was a bedroom just large enough for a single bed and a wardrobe.

 

The hostel had been split in two between boys and girls dormitories and at the centre of the hostel separating the two, was a large cafeteria which served breakfast, lunch and dinner to the pupils. It also had an area with a pool table and several sofas set up to act as a place to socialise.

 

However I had little time to actually check out these facilities since I spent most of Saturday traveling and had spent all of Sunday with my brother and father.

 

I had tried to keep an eye out for someone who looked like Liz, but with the hostel split into male and female dorms and the fact that I hadn’t visited the cafeteria beyond my initial tour I hadn’t seen many female survivors at all.

 

However a few pupils had caught my attention. Just like Kirito had said I saw a few people I recognised from one place or another. I was thankful that I was nowhere near as famous as Asuna or Kirito and that I could slip under the radar.

 

In fact I had made it all the way to lunchtime on the first day and thus far had only been recognised once.

 

That morning, when I sat down on one of the school buses which shuttled pupils from the hostel to the school, a small girl had rushed up the aisle to take the seat next to me. I looked down at her a little confused as she smiled up at me. Eventually the penny dropped as I looked into her azure eyes.

 

“Tori?” I asked.

 

The girl leaped at me and took me in her arms. “Tyzn, I didn’t know you were going to this school.”

 

“Errr… yeah it’s my first day.” I answered feeling a little awkward at the affection.

 

“It’s good to see you again, if we are at the same school it means I can thank you for saving me every day.”

 

I patted Tori on the back gently and replied. “There’s no need for that, you helped us save many more people. You’re the real hero.”

 

Tori let go of me and beamed a smile straight at me. “Well if I can’t thank you I can at least sit with you on the way to school right? I mean you are like a big brother to me.”

 

This was getting awkward, but I could at least understand her affections, even if it was a little weird. “Ok sure.”

 

We spent the rest of the journey talking about where we had come from, the school and the housing complex in which we stayed. As we arrived at the school we said our goodbyes and went to our respective classes.

 

* * *

 

Like Kirito had said, it just felt like a normal school after that. The pupils all shuffled from one class to the next chatting and gossiping before settling down to hear teachers give their lectures. It all felt so familiar.

 

As the lunch bell tolled I left my math class and walked out into the corridor, through the hustle and bustle of the students I was trying to glimpse a sign to show me to the cafeteria, when I caught sight of someone out of the corner of my eye. I did a double take and my eyes went wide as I saw her.

 

A girl with long chestnut hair tied into a distinctive hairstyle with long bangs. _Asuna!_

 

I made my way as quickly as I could through the crowd and as I drew up beside her I tentatively spoke.

 

“A-Asuna?”

 

The girl turned to look at me and in an instant was leaping at me to give me a hug. As she grabbed onto me her crutches swung around wildly on her arms.

 

“Tyzn! Oh my god it’s so good to see you!” she screeched happily.

 

“It’s great to see you too Asuna” I had to hold back tears at seeing the person who had been my best friend through SAO again.

 

Asuna held the hug for a few seconds more before backing up and planting her crutches on the floor. She grabbed my arm with her free hand and started to pull me down the corridor. “Come on slowpoke, let’s go find the others.”

 

I was pulled down several hallways and through a big set of double doors which opened up into a huge room full of pupils eating their lunch noisily. It really was just like a regular school. Asuna continued to tug me along until we came to a table beside a window where I saw Kirito and another girl sitting down.

 

As we approached Kirito looked up and smiled at Asuna. “Look who I just found” Asuna said with a big smile. Kirito looked at me for a few seconds, it was obviously taking him longer to recognise me than Asuna did.

 

“Holy crap Tyzn you got big!” he eventually blurted out.

 

Raising an eyebrow I replied “big how?” with a laugh in my voice.

 

“I mean your muscles man, just look at that. You were nowhere near as ripped in SAO.”

 

“Yeah I’ve kinda been going hard for the last couple of months, I’ve started to learn Jujutsu too.”

 

“Well you need to take Kirito with you, he could use a bit more muscle.” Asuna laughed out.

 

“I’m plenty strong thank you” Kirito replied angrily.

 

“Relax I’m just kidding” Asuna replied.

 

As me and Asuna sat down Kirito introduced me to the other girl at the table.

 

“This is Keiko AKA Silica, a friend I made in SAO. Keiko this is Tyzn, one of the strongest fighters in SAO and the best scout for the assault team.”

 

“It’s good to meet you in person” Keiko said with a smile.

 

“Same to you Keiko, it’s good to put a face to the name at last.” I said back.

 

Asuna pulled a couple of boxes from her bag and placed them on the table. Inside them was an assortment of goodies ranging from sandwiches to cakes.

 

“Anyone know where Rika is? She should be here by now” Keiko asked.

 

“I haven’t seen her yet but she should be here soon” Asuna responded.

 

 _Who is Rika?_ I thought as Asuna leant forwards from her seat and waved at someone behind me. “There she is, over here!” Asuna called.

 

I looked back over my shoulder and gasped. Walking towards us was a beautiful sight. A freckled girl with a messy haircut. The hair might not be pink anymore but there was no doubt who it was. _Lisbeth!_

 

She made her way over to the table and sat down right next to me. “So who is this nerd?” she asked thumbing in my direction. As I was about to reply she laughed and nudged me in the ribs. “Relax I know who you are Tyzn.”

 

She turned to face me and looked me up and down letting out a whistle. “Damn boy you got yourself some guns!”

 

“errr yeah… I’ve been working out a bit.” I replied quietly. I felt anxieties I hadn’t felt since first meeting Liz back in SAO swell back up. The anxiety of meeting a new and very attractive girl. It seemed odd that I would be feeling this all over again, perhaps it was because this was the real world and not virtual. Either way it left me feeling uncomfortable and flushed.

 

“A bit? Jeez you better be careful or you may have Asuna swooning over you” Both Kirito and Asuna gave Liz a glare but all it did was make Liz chuckle.

 

“No offense Tyzn but I only have eyes for Kirito” Asuna said while grabbing his hand. It still made me happy to see them both in love, even more so now it was the real world.

 

Kirito smiled back at Asuna and said in a low voice “Kazuto”.

 

Asuna went red and covered her mouth. “Oh sorry, remembering to use everyone’s real name is hard.”

 

“That’s a good point” Liz said “Well Kirito is really called Kazuto, Silica is Keiko and I’m Rika. Asuna had no imagination and named her character after her real life name.” Asuna gave Liz a kick under the table which made her jump up. “Ow!”

 

“Serves you right!” Asuna said pouting.

 

“Anyway what do we call you muscles?” Liz said looking straight at me.

 

“I’m… Reo” I mumbled out. It was hard speaking to her all over again. _Why does this feel like the first time again? I’ve spoken to her loads online since SAO!_

“Well good to meet you Reo” Kazuto said with a nod.

 

“What number bus did you get on this morning Tyz… I mean Reo?” asked Silica. It seemed Asuna wasn’t the only one getting confused by the names “We didn’t see you this morning.”

 

“I got the first one that turned up.” I replied.

 

“Pfft only the nerds get the first one!” Liz said as she chowed down on one of Asuna’s cakes. “You should wait at the bus stop tomorrow for us lovely ladies to escort you in!”

 

My heart was racing at the idea of traveling to school with Liz, it made me feel so pathetic but happy at the same time. “Ok… Sure” I nodded back.

 

We all tucked into the food that Asuna had bought along. It turned out she was a great chef and the food was delicious.

 


	16. Courage

 

Chapter 15- May 15th “Courage”

SAO Survivors School Hostel

 

I had been at the survivor’s school for a month now and yet my anxieties when it came to Liz still buzzed around me as much as they had back when I first met her in SAO.

 

The only time where I could stop thinking about her was when in a fight in ALO or at my Jujutsu class. And then when I was with her my voice would quieten, my pulse would rise and I’d go red.

 

For a while I had been trying to control these emotions on my own but now I just felt like I had no choice but to seek help from someone about the subject.

 

But I couldn’t ask anyone from the group, they all knew us both too well and I’d make a fool of myself. So I went to the only other person I could, Sora.

 

Even after he had agreed to come over I felt like this was going to be a mistake. We had become closer over the past few months but asking him for advice about a girl? This was going to end up being another joke with me as the punch line.

 

As I contemplated my impending doom I heard a knock at the door. “Come on brother it’s raining outside and my coats all wet! Security really takes their time checking your ID!” I heard Sora call as I opened the door. He barged his way past me and into my room shaking off water all over my small living space. At least he had the decency to remove his shoes and place his wet coat on the back of the chair.

 

He wasted no time snooping around and I regretted my decision more with every passing moment. He slid open the door to my bedroom and peered inside before grabbing for something from my desk. He turned around waving my AmuSphere in the air and tutting.

 

_Oh shit! I should have hidden that away!_

“What are you doing with one of these little brother? Mum and dad would have a fit if they found out you were using this.”

 

I just stood there in silence staring at the floor. He wasn’t wrong, they would be upset with me and it would probably panic them.

 

Sora walked up to me and placed a hand on my shoulder “are you sure you are safe using this thing?” He sounded concerned. I nodded slowly. “And does this thing make you happy?” I nodded again expecting some kind of chastisement in response.

 

Instead Sora just went and placed it back in my bedroom. When he turned back he smiled at me and said “its ok your secret is safe with me.” I looked up at him awe struck. “What? If you are being safe and you are enjoying it then its ok with me, but if you’re going to tell mum and dad about it just make sure to have your running shoes on.” He said with a wink. “God listen to me I sound like a dad giving his son a sex talk.”

 

Sora sat down in the chair in my living area before speaking again. “So what it is you wanted to talk to me about anyway?”

 

I sat on the sofa opposite Sora and I took a deep breath. _Here goes._ “Well there is this girl I met in SAO…”

 

“Oh god this is the sex talk isn’t it?” Sora interrupted.

 

“No just shut up and listen!” I retaliated in an angry voice. Sora went quiet and nodded with a big smirk on his face.

 

“So I met this girl in SAO and I liked her then but I never acted on it cause I had to focus on… well not dying. But now she is at my school and we see each other all the time... I can’t stop thinking about her and its driving me nuts. But Rika is also my friend and I don’t want that to go away.” I took a long pause before continuing. “I just don’t know what I should do.” As my confessions flowed I waited and waited for a sarcastic response but none came.

 

When I was finished Sora gave me a big smile before saying “Sorry kiddo you’re in love.”

 

“Well yeah I got that much.”

 

“Then there is only one thing you can do, you gotta ask this Rika on a date.”

 

“But what if that just pushes her away? I don’t want to lose her as a friend too!”

 

Sora’s face went stern before he spoke. “Look I’ve been where you are now, it sucks I know. But what I learnt the hard way is that if you don’t ask her you will regret it, and if she is scared away just by asking about a simple date then she isn’t worth being a friend in the first place.”

 

Those words were surprisingly reassuring, and even more shocking given who was saying them.

 

“So if you want my advice brother, do whatever you need to do to build up the courage and just ask her for a date. It shouldn’t be too hard for someone that faced death every day for two years and survived right?”

 

“Yeah, I never thought I’d be going to you for advice on girls. But you’re really good at it, you should look into becoming an agony aunt!”

 

Sora laughed haughtily at that before standing back up.

 

“Glad I could help son” he said mockingly replicating our dad’s voice. “I had best get going, I’ve got my own studying to do, and good luck kiddo.”

 

* * *

 

The next day rolled around and before I knew it was lunch time. I had seen Liz on the school bus of course but there was no way that I could psyche myself up to ask her in a place with no escape.

 

 I made my way to the cafeteria trying my old methods to prepare for a fight in an attempt to gain some composure.

 

_What were my goals here? To have the confidence to ask Liz on a date_

_How do I achieve it? I stroll into the cafeteria and just ask her, no hesitation_

_What do I do if that fails? Run away screaming. No that was stupid._

_Take the rejection in my stride and move on? That’d be hard but I didn’t have another choice_

_Well shit this isn’t helping!_

I stood in front of the cafeteria doors. I could tell that it was mostly empty, most of the pupils had gone out to enjoy the sunshine, you’d never think it was raining the day before with how warm the sun was today. I took a final deep breath and swung the doors open, heading straight to our usual table.

 

I could see Liz standing at the window peering through it before she sat down in her seat with a thump. It was then that she noticed my approach but she seemed to be in a bad mood given her expression.

 

I almost turned to run but my brother’s voice rang through my mind “ _if you don’t ask her you will regret it”._ I had finally got the courage, I had to use it now.

 

“Hey Keiko, hey Rika.” I said as I approached.

 

Silica spun around on her chair and replied “oh hey Reo.”

 

“Hey” Liz said sounding annoyed.

 

“So errr… Liz… I was wondering… do you wanna go to the dicey café with me one day?”

 

_God I sounded so pathetic, way to beam confidence there Reo!_

“Derr… we’re all going there after school dummy. You know the big party thing.”

 

 _Oh no she didn’t understand. Abort, Abort!_ My mind screamed but I had to push on, now or never!

 

“I mean another time… just the two of us… maybe” I stuttered out, but then my anxieties got the better of me and I blurted out the most pathetic thing. “I mean if you don’t want to that’s ok, I understand.”

 

Both the girls sat there in silence. While Keiko smiled at us both with a twinkle in her eye Liz went bright red. I couldn’t tell if that was embarrassment or anger or both.

 

Eventually Liz broke the deadlock. “You mean… like…. a date… right?”

 

“Yeah that’s what I meant.” I said hanging my head, _at least I tried._

“Sureee… that sounds fun, wanna go next Saturday?” Liz replied in an embarrassed tone.

 

_Wait what? She said yes?_

“Yeah that sounds great… I have work in the morning though” my heart was racing yet I felt like a deer in the headlights.

 

“Is 2 o’clock ok?” Liz asked. Her cheeks were still becoming more and more flushed, I guess that she was just as nervous as me.

 

“Sure, I finish work at one so I’ll meet you there.” My heart was pounding and I felt the need to leave soon before I made even more of a fool of myself. “Anyway I better head to the computer lab, see you both later.” I said quickly before making my way to the doors. My body wanted to run out of the cafeteria as fast as I could but I managed to reel myself back as I walked out as calmly as I could muster. Once I was past the doors I let out a long sigh. A wave of happiness flood over me.

 

 _SHE SAID YES!_ I couldn’t believe it even now.

 

* * *

 

Liz could barely believe what just happened. She sat in complete amazement with her eyes and mouth wide open. As the doors swung shut behind Reo, Keiko let out a loud giggle.

 

“Oh my god Rika, that was adorable!” she laughed.

 

Liz sank into her chair. “Glad you found it funny” she said in quiet voice.

 

“Come on you’ve fancied him for ages and now you get all moody because he asked you on a date.” Keiko laughed a little more. “You only just said that the way Kirito and Asuna are is, quote ‘Not fair Damnit’”

 

“Yeah yeah, I get the point.”

 

* * *

 

That evening at the dicey café was way more awkward for me and Liz than it was for Kirito. The whole point of it was to make Kirito feel a little embarrassed but instead it felt like both I and Liz were avoiding each other out of embarrassment. It wasn’t until Asuna set up an obvious ruse to get us to talk to each other that we were forced to interact. Keiko must have told her about earlier, she was a good friend but a terrible gossiper.

 

“Sooo… you having fun?” Liz asked, trying her best not to seem scared or embarrassed.

 

“Yeah it was good seeing Kirito squirm a little.” My comment made Liz giggle at the memory of Kirito’s face when the ‘Congratulations’ banner dropped.

 

“Anyway… Tyzn…” Liz started. _Oh god she’s calling it off already!_ My mind was screaming. “Can we… maybe stop trying to be so awkward? I mean Silica would have told everyone by now that we have a date.”

 

“Yeah no doubt she has” I said looking around the room as all our friends tried to hide their glances over at me and Liz.

 

“Let’s just go back to snarking on everyone else and enjoying ourselves. And then I can forget how shit scared I am for tomorrow.” I looked to Liz who was bright red and trying desperately to hide her face behind her drink.

 

“Shit scared? What are you shit scared about?”

 

“Boy you are cute, but you aren’t too quick on the uptake huh?... I’m scared I’ll make an idiot of myself ok?”

 

“Oh well in that case you are not the only one, I’ve been worried about that since before I asked you.”

 

Liz giggled a little. “Here I thought a badass floor clearer like you didn’t get scared.”

 

“Now who is slow on the uptake?” I replied. Liz gave me a dig in the ribs for the comment but it was totally worth it.

 

“Ok pact time, we both ignore the little voices in our heads about screwing up and just say what comes naturally to us. After all it’s not like we can really get to truly know each other if we don’t right?”

 

“You know what Liz? That makes sense.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up going on a little bit of an editing tear last night so here are the next couple of chapters a bit earlier than I expected :) 
> 
> As a quick synopsis of whats still in the pipeline:
> 
> The next chapter (16) will be the first date and will be so full of fluff you might choke :P 
> 
> Chapter 17 is some action in ALO
> 
> Then for chapter 18 and 19 expect all the angst!


	17. Very First Date

Chapter 16- May 24th “Very First Date”

Dicey Café

 

As I approached the dicey café my heart was pounding in my chest. Yet despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins my mind was strangely clear. The pact that Liz and I had made to ignore the voices in our heads had really let a weight off my shoulders, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t made an effort for the occasion.

 

I had taken my smartest jeans and casual shirt that I could find to change into after work. I had even polished up a pair of smart shoes usually only reserved for family get togethers.

 

I reached the entrance to the café and saw that Agil had left the ‘Booked for the Day!’ sign on the door. I began to panic a little, _was there another booking?_ I slowly opened the door and as my eyes adjusted I saw that the café was empty aside from Agil behind the counter.

 

“Hey Tyzn, you’re a little early. Come on in.” He said waving me inside.

 

“I’m sorry Agil I didn’t know the place was booked for today.” I said as the door closed behind me.

 

“What? I haven’t got any bookings.”

 

“Then why is the reserved sign still up?... wait Keiko told you didn’t she?” it all made sense now.

 

“Yup that girl was so excited for you both it got me pumped too. I’ve got lots of cleaning out back to do today so it only made sense for you and Liz to have the place to yourselves.”

 

“Thanks Agil, but you didn’t need to do that, we could go somewhere else.” Agil walked over to the seat I had taken at the bar and raised a fist to me. I raised my own and bumped it.

 

“Nah brother, its fine honestly. I owe both of you, and making you and Liz happy is a pleasure. So what can I get you?”

 

“I’m ok for now thanks, I’ll wait for Liz to arrive.” I said with a smile.

 

“Should’ve known that between you and Kirito you’d be the romantic.” Agil said with a wink.

 

Just then the door opened and I swung around to see Rika’s head poking around the corner just as I had done.

 

“Errr… hey guys” she said. “What’s with the reserved sign?” The grin on my face grew larger at seeing Liz, even if it was only her head.

 

“Keiko” I said in response and Liz instantly put the pieces together.

 

“God damn blabber mouth I swear I’m gonna give her a piece of my mind…” Liz opened the door all the way and I was struck with a bewildering sight. I know that I say that a lot but this was seriously a memory that will last in my mind forever.

 

Bathed in the light behind her Liz stood there wearing a white summer dress which frilled out at the knees with a green trim. She had flowery hair clips holding back her bangs and white shoes which had long lace going half way up her calf. She looked the most dazzling I had ever seen her and my mouth went instantly dry as the whole world slowed down in that moment.

 

Liz made her way to sit at the bar next to me and oblivious to my awestruck state asked Agil for a tea. I spun back around on my chair and asked Agil for the same. A memory of the previous night ran through my head “ _just say what comes naturally to us”._

My nerves calmed and I looked Liz in the eye. “Hey… so, just say what comes naturally to us right?” Liz nodded and smiled. “Well in that case you look like the most beautiful girl in the world right now. Scratch that the universe!”

 

The little voice in my head was screaming at me that what I just said was way too far and sounded too dorky.

 

Liz’s eyes went wide and I heard a slight gasp but to my amazement she smiled at my comment. “Wow good opening muscles. You know you don’t scrub up bad yourself!”

 

She gazed up and down my body inspecting my attire. When she was done she let out a slight growl and instantly raised her hand to her forehead. “Oh god that was dumb!” She said under her breath and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

 

“Just say what comes naturally remember?” I tried to reassure her.

 

“That works until I make myself sound like a horny housewife!” she said from behind her hand.

 

I reached up and gently moved her hand out of the way of her face. When she saw me smiling she burst out laughing which also started me off.

 

After we were done laughing we settled down to talk about ALO and new Aincrad. Liz spoke about how she wanted to get her old workshop back and build a smithing empire spanning from Yggdrasil City all the way to floor 100 of new Aincrad.

 

We then moved on to more mundane topics such as home, family and school life. It turned out that Liz grew up in a rural town not too far from Tokyo, yet the distance to and from the school necessitated her moving into the city when offered.

 

Liz even laughed at my bad jokes which seemed like a good sign.

 

Before long it was getting late. When Liz saw that the clock on the wall reading 7:00pm she said to me “We should be off, you know what the security gets like when students come home late.”

 

“Yeah you’re right, guess I had best walk you home then, you know to explain why you’re back so late” I said with a smile.

 

“you dofus” Liz said with a chuckle back.

 

As we reached the door I pulled it open and allowed Liz to pass through first.

 

“Oooo, get me Agil, I bagged me a gentleman.” Liz said with another chuckle as we waved goodbye to him.

 

It wasn’t all that far from the dicey café to the hostel but every second I had with Liz was precious to me, especially after the afternoon I had spent with her. My mind was swimming as I felt that it had all gone so well, but lurking in the back was always the thought that she wouldn’t feel the same.

 

However even that thought was drowned out when I felt Liz’s hand take mine and our fingers intertwined.

 

As we reached the hostel entrance Liz stopped and turned to stand in front of me, taking my other hand into hers.

 

“Thank you for today, it was really great!” She beamed up at me with a big smile.

 

“So does that mean you want to go on another date?”

 

“Of course it does dummy!” she went on her tip toes and gave me a peck on the cheek before continuing. “Congrats muscles you win a second date” she said with a wink as she walked off towards the female dorms. As she reached the entrance door she blew me a kiss and walked in with a big smile.

 

I turned to walk into the boy’s dorms, it almost felt like I was flying in ALO with how much skip there was in my step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was one hell of a fluffy episode!
> 
> I've decided that I'm going to try and get a chapter uploaded every couple of days to space them out a little and give me time to write new ones while proof reading the older ones.
> 
> If you like the story so far or have any feedback make sure to leave a comment :)


	18. Like Riding a Bike

Chapter 17- June 7th 2025 "Like Riding a Bike"

Tokyo

 

 

It had been a long day spent with my brother. He had been insisting on spending time together as brothers ever since I had asked him for advice about Rika, it was obvious to me what his reasons were. But I suppose I did owe him, after all without him I never would have had the courage to ask Liz on a date.

Things had changed though and he seemed determined to bridge the gap between us. He seemed genuinely pleased at how well my first date went and even regaled me with the tale of how bad his had gone. It was strange seeing him mock his own bad decisions, perhaps he always had but I just never saw it through his mocking of me.

It was already 7pm when I returned home and I threw myself down on my bed with a thump. I had spent the day with him showing me around his university. It was huge and I probably walked further than I ever had before in my life. Even with all the working out I had been doing lately my legs were tired from just this trip.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and pulled it up to my face. A message from Liz popped up.

**_Hey are you home yet?_ **

I typed out my reply.

**_Yeah just got in, why whats up?_ **

**_I was wondering, could you jump into ALO and Help me and Silica on a quest?_ **

My body was beat but my mind was still sharp.

**_Sure thing where should I meet you guys?_ **

**_We're in Legrue_ **

The Legrue Corridor was probably a half hour flight from where I was in Alne. But fighting my way through the mobs to Legrue itself would take that long again. It would be faster to meet the girls half way and fight through together.

**_Can you guys make it to the Alne Plateau_   _side of the corridor? It'll be quicker to meet you there._**

**_Sure thing see you soon, but please hurry. We need some payback._ **

Payback? What did she mean by that?

I grabbed the AmuSphere from my desk. And laid down on my bed. I could almost feel my legs sigh in relief. I uttered the words that could take you to other worlds.

 

"Link Start!"

 

* * *

 

I had made it in record time to the Corridor, only 21 minutes which was a new personal best. I guess the drive to see Lisbeth and find out what that last message meant really lit a fire up my backside.

As I approached the corridor I landed and headed inside, Liz and Silica were nowhere to be seen so I guessed they were still heading up. My theory proved true as I rounded a corner and saw the pair dispatching some trolls.

"Hey girls, whats up?" I asked as I approached and Silica finished off the last mob.

"Come on we need to be quick!" Lisbeth said as she grabbed myself and Silica by the arms and started to march off back down the corridor.

"Whoa, what's the rush? What are you guys doing down here anyway?" I asked as I was dragged along.

"Liz was helping me with a quest which would have a trainer teach Pina some new abilities." Silica started.

"Yeah and it should be easy too, the quest is for newer players. But some jerks have set up right in front of the quest item and are PKing the new players trying to finish it." Lisbeth Interrupted.

"But you guys aren't new players and you have skills transferred from SAO."

"But we aren't fighters like you are and there is five of them." Silica said sounding dejected.

"So that's why we need you Tyzn. Go in there and flex you muscles to make them let us past." Lisbeth was obviously quite wound up about this.

"I don't think it will be that easy but I'm sure I can work something out."

I really doubted they would just let us pass because there was now three of us. It could only end in a fight but a part of me was actually hoping for that. If these players were stronger than Liz and Silica then they were gonna be tough to beat and I relished the chance to let loose solo again.

We approached a side tunnel and Liz stopped.

"They were down here." She said nodding in the tunnels direction. A big smile formed on my face, this was going to be fun.

"So I think this is going to end up in a fight, if it does I need you two to stay back." I said to the girls.

"You're going to take on five players on your own?" Silica said with a gasp.

"Look honey, I know you're a good fighter and all but I think you may be a little overconfident." Liz said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hey that's a little harsh! You've never seen me fight solo before, trust me I've got this."

Silica had a huge smile on her face and a glint in her eye but Liz gave me a stare full of pessimism. I gave them both a wink and headed down the passageway with the girls close behind.

Eventually we came to a large cave, the left side of the path falling away into a cliff face with a large pool of water at the bottom while the right side was a flattened cave wall. Standing in the middle of the pathway was a group of five Gnome players. As they saw our approach the formed up and stood directly in our way.

I held out a hand to stop Liz and Silica. "Wait here, I got this" I said eliciting a giggle from Silica and a low hum of disapproval from Liz. I continued on towards the group and stopped a few meters in front of their lead player. The guy was huge and carried a big shield and one handed axe. As I focused on him his name appeared  _Stonewall._  He took a few steps forward before speaking.

"Hey look our friends from earlier are back and they bought someone stupid enough to follow them."

I just stared at the man and grinned slightly.

"Ok buddy" Stonewall continued "the toll to pass is 10,000 Yrd. If you don't pay up then we turn we into paste and take your drops."

"I've got a counter deal" I said with a big grin "You return the items you took from my friends and this doesn't get messy."

"Ha, we already smashed your friends back there and you think you can take all five of us on... alone? You must be an idiot." The big man chuckled but I had him sussed out.

I assessed their party for strengths and weaknesses, the way that I fought relied on predicting my opponents.

Stonewall was overconfident. All I needed was to push the right buttons and he would initiate a predictable attack.

The guy to his right was holding a two handed axe, the way he held his grip told me he would go full in on powerful attacks so speed was the key to defeating him.

The one to his left was wearing little in the way of armour and had an estoc in his hand. This guy was obviously going for speed, but that left him vulnerable to being pushed around due to his low weight.

Behind them was a girl with a bow. She had a determined look in her eye that told me she was capable, however in these tight spaces her effectiveness would be limited.

The final player carried a staff and had the typical robes of a mage. I had to take him out fast before he could cast any buffs or heals on his party.

I looked Stonewall straight back in the eye. "Wow I'm surprised you can count" Stonewall grimaced and I knew I had him. "I'll give you one last chance" I drew my glaive and positioned the blade just behind my back as I adopted a fighting stance to set up my first move. "Give back the items you stole and I won't wipe the floor with your pathetic ass."

Stonewall let out a roar and in one motion drew his axe and bought it swinging down. As I thought, predictable. I spun on my heel and grabbed his wrist throwing off his axe blow. Using my momentum combined with his own, I flung myself in a roll over his back. The blade of my weapon cut along his back as I went, pushing Stonewall to the ground.

As I landed I flung my glaive around to deflect a blow from the Estoc user and used the recoil from it to allow my glaive to flip in my hand and spin into the air catching the two hander mid swing and throwing him back into the wall.

 

With my path now clear I leapt forwards at the mage and caught him mid spell cast. Three quick slices was all that was needed to dispatch him.

 

* * *

 

Liz watched on as Tyzn made his way up to the group. Next to her Silica had a huge smile on her face and her eyes were wide.

"God he's gonna get himself creamed" Liz said with a sigh.

"I don't think so" Silica replied "He seemed pretty confident."

"Pffft he's just trying to show off, he might be a good fighter but he's not Kirito good."

"Aren't you meant to be supportive of your boyfriend Liz?"

Liz could feel her cheeks flush as she snapped her head around to Silica who was now looking back to her with a mischievous look on her face.

"We went on one date it's not like we're boyfriend and girlfriend already!"

"But you're going on another date right? And I saw your face when he turned up, that tough girl act slipped away for just a second, but I saw it!"

Liz gave Silica a dig in the ribs. "Oh shush let's just watch how badly this goes."

As both of them looked back to the brewing battle they could see that Tyzn had already drawn his weapon and looked ready to fight. The big guy let out a bellowing roar and went to cut down at Tyzn. Suddenly Tyzn was a blur as a cloud of dust flew into the air and the leader of the PKers fell flat on his face.

Then from behind their group they saw a flash as the mage exploded into a cloud of brown smoke before a remain light took his place.

Both girls gasped in disbelief at the display.

 

* * *

 

As the mages remain light flickered into existence in front of me I felt a blow in my side. The archer had leapt into the air and loosed an arrow at me. As expected she was a skilled player but in such close quarters she wouldn't be able to leap far enough away to prevent me from catching her.

However the Estoc guy had other ideas as he came in with speed to try and catch me off guard but I had seen him coming in time. I used the race ability of my avatar.

As an Imp I could fly for short distances while indoors so I flew vertical and over his blade before spinning around and giving him a hard kick in the back. He fell flat on the floor and then skidded clean off the cliff face. A short moment later I heard a splash as he hit the water below. Two down.

As my feet hit the ground I barely managed to get my glaive up to block Stonewall who had charged in to try and knock me off my feet with his shield. This guy was really strong and I slid back several meters only stopping as my back collided with the wall of the cave.

 

* * *

 

Liz and Silica stared at the scene with their mouths agape.  _Holy shit, I had no idea he could fight like that_ Liz thought to herself as she watched Tyzn move with a blistering speed. It was difficult to see exactly what was going on through the commotion but she caught another glimpse of Tyzn as he leapt into the air and one of the PKers was sent screaming off the cliff.

Another roar rang out in the cave as Silica and Liz saw the leader charge into the fray, and as the dust settled they could make out Tyzn pinned to a wall with the two handed axe user barrelling down to strike him.

"Tyzn!" Liz screeched.

 

* * *

 

This wasn't good, pinned to the wall like this I was a sitting duck. I felt another thud in my side as the archer had got an angle to hit me between the shield and the cave wall. I then saw the two hander charging down on me from the left, but once again Stonewalls overconfidence got the better of him.

Stonewall backed up slightly in an attempt to also strike me with his axe but left just enough room for me to slip down and under his shield. As I rose again I leapt at the two hander and again caught him mid swing. I spun around low under his axe with four quick slices, using the <<Horizontal Square>> Sword Skill. One final blow with tip of the blade into his chest was all that was needed to finish him off. That was three.

Another thud hit me in the arm and I watched my health drop into the yellow. I needed to deal with that damn archer. I knew from her fast strikes that her reactions were solid so charging in wouldn't help. But if I could get a moments respite from Stonewall I could trap her.

Almost as if my by command Stonewall again charged at me but this time I was ready. I held the centre of my glaive and slid low between his legs with my weapon trailing behind me. As his feet hit the hilt he once again tripped. I watched as he stumbled but he managed to land on one knee. I wouldn't have much time before he would recover this time.

Skidding back onto my feet I ducked left then right and succeeded in throwing off the archers aim as an arrow came screaming past. I lunged out as I sprinted at her, making a feint strike to her left side. She leapt to her right to dodge the perceived blow and landed beside the wall of the cave.  _Gotcha!_  Swinging the glaive to my right I allowed its momentum to carry me to the side.

With nowhere to run the archer raised her bow in attempt to block my blow. She succeeded but the sheer momentum of the blade made her bow snap back and hit her square in the jaw. I flung my weapon left then right in multiple slashes as the girl smirked back at me. She knew that this was a good fight and that she was beaten by a superior opponent, I could respect her for the pleasure she took in that.

One last bow drained the last of her HP, but with the amount of time it taken to dispatch her Stonewall was once again on top of me. Swinging his axe down at me I couldn't bring my weapon up in time to defect the blow. I raised my arm and blocked the axe from hitting anything important but my health was now critically low.

Swinging my glaive in an upwards movement I forced Stonewall to back up but he quickly recovered and once again tried to smash me with the base of his shield. Just in time I sidestepped his shield and bought the hilt of my glaive around to hit him on his axe hand. Whilst the blow was not enough to do any real damage it carried enough force to make him lose his grip on his axe as it clattered to the ground. He then jutted the base of his shield out towards me again but this would prove to be his last misstep as my glaive was in the perfect position to deflect the blow.

With an almighty CLANG! I bought my glaive around to collide with the side of his shield sending his arm snapping to the side. My glaive was now positioned just right for a clean strike to chest. The blow sent him tumbling back and I bought my glaive into the air for a coup de grace.

My blade stopped inches from his face as he stared at it with a terrified look. "Damn man, you guys are good fighters" I said with a huge smile on my face and panting from the excursion of battle. Stonewall just looked up at me completely puzzled. I put my glaive on my back and outstretched a hand to big man. He just laid there for a few seconds before reaching his hand to mine.

As I pulled him to his feet I heard to footsteps as Silica and Liz came running up. "What are you waiting for dummy? Finish him off!" I heard Liz shout as she approached.

"No need" I shouted back "his party is out of the way and I've recovered more than they took from you two by defeating his friends." Stonewall continued to just stare speechlessly at me as I spoke.

"You know, your squad is pretty strong. You're wasted just picking on new players down here. You could earn much better rewards taking on boss raids up at new Aincrad, and with the way you guys fight you'd be damn good at it!"

"Errr... you think we would?" Stonewall said timidly.

Liz and Silica now stood to my side with their mouths agape, they were completely confused by how this fight had ended.

"Damn right I do. Tell you what, you guys should head up and go to the Black Iron Palace. Some players from SAO have set up a school to explain boss mechanics to guilds looking to get into raiding."

"Yeah... that sounds cool, thanks man" Stonewall replied a smile forming on his face. I once again reached out a hand to the man who took it in a firm handshake.

As we parted ways and continued down the passage Liz gave me a strong punch in the arm. "What the hell was that? You were meant to beat his ass not shake his hand!"

"He was beat and he knew it, and having more strong groups like that in boss raids will make it a hell of a lot more fun." Liz growled at my response obviously a bit displeased.

"I didn't know you could fight like that Tyzn!" Silica piped up in as high voice "that was so cool."

"Yeah it was fun to let loose in a fight again, every now and then it's good to fight solo and test my limits."

"But how come you don't fight like that when you're in a party?" Silica inquired.

"Well I guess if I cleared every encounter by going full out there would be no fun in it for you guy's right? Besides I don't play to be the best or to survive anymore, I play to spend time with my friends." I looked down at Silica and we smiled at each other.

I felt Liz grab my hand. "You know, you might be an idiot but every now and then you say something that actually makes sense."

"It does happen sometimes" I chuckled back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this one! It may be a bit on the long side though, sorry for that.
> 
> Just as a quick heads up for people, I've also decided to start a second story with entirely new characters who will have very little to do with the main characters of the anime (especially after SAO is cleared). Its only in the planning stage right now but I'm hoping to get started on it soon.
> 
> This shouldn't impact this story though since I've gotten up to chapter 32 written  and have already given the next few chapters a couple of editing passes.
> 
> As always if you like the story or have any advice for me feel free to leave me a comment. If you do enjoy it please also consider sharing it around, I'd love to get peoples feedback to improve as a writer :D


	19. Something Worth Fighting For

Chapter 18- July 13th 2025 “Something Worth Fighting For”

Tokyo

It was coming to the end of another date night with Liz. We were sitting in the restaurant of the mall eating cake and discussing the boss battles in new Aincrad.

“So you’re telling me that the bosses in New Aincrad are harder? That doesn’t seem right, we’ve been clearing the bosses without too much trouble so far” Liz asked with a mouthful of cake.

“It’s a different battle though” I shrugged. “Bear in mind back in SAO the goal was not just to beat the boss, but to survive. Players were much more cautious since one wrong move and bam! You’re dead for real. Also we didn’t have mages to heal us or shoot from range, if you wanted to hurt a boss you had to close in.”

“I guess people do seem reckless in the boss fights sometimes but you and Kirito are always on the frontline dealing damage and dancing around attacks. And then Asuna goes all ‘Berserk Healer’ and charges in too. I’d say you lot are more reckless than any of the other players and you guys are assault team vets!”

“Ah but we aren’t reckless you see.” I said raising a finger, as if telling a story to a child. “We have learnt to predict patterns in the boss’s attacks and exploit them. We had to in order to survive. So while we may seem reckless it’s more that we are testing the waters and waiting for the time to strike. We also work better as a team because of it since we don’t just see patterns in the boss, but in each other too.”

Liz nodded but seemed unconvinced. “I dunno, I just don’t think a game where you can die and respawn can ever be called harder than a game where you die IRL.”

I shrugged. “I guess it’s difficult to explain but even though these bosses feel harder, I’d take them over any of the boss fights we had in SAO.”

My mind wandered to memories of some of the more gruelling fights we had in SAO. A slideshow of all the death I had seen played through my mind, all culminating in watching Asuna die shortly followed by Kirito. I could still feel my rage burning every time that replayed. I was snapped back by Liz’s voice.

“Tyzn… hello??... Earth to Tyzn!” I blinked a few times and Liz reached her hand to mine. “Are you ok?” she asked looking concerned.

“Yeah sorry, just zoned out is all.” Liz gripped my hand tight.

“I can see the look on your face when you do that, I know whatever it is scares you. I’m always here if you need to talk you know.” Liz looked a combination of scared and worried as she looked into my eyes.

“I know and I will some other time I promise, but right now we should head home, it’s getting late.”

Liz looked at her phone and gasped “Oh crap, yeah.”

 

* * *

 

Liz gripped my hand tightly as we walked. I had obviously scared her when I zoned out and it made feel guilty. All I wanted was for Liz to be happy and if these memories ended up making Liz fee bad too, then I had to find a way to deal with them once and for all.

Something made the hairs on my neck stand up as we walked. I couldn’t tell what but something just felt wrong.

After a few more blocks I noticed a skinny man following close behind us and as we rounded another block a fat man appeared from down an alleyway to block our path while a third short and stocky man crossed the road to surround us.

On instinct I reached to my back but found no glaive to help me. Liz pulled in close to me and I moved to position myself between everyone as best I could. Skinny pulled a short blade from his coat, just enough to make it clear that he was armed but not enough to have it on full display.

“Alright kiddies, wallets and phones and you can leave.” Stocky said with a menacing grin.

 _For fucks sake, this shit again!_ I thought. I found myself assessing the assailants just like I would in SAO or ALO but came up short.  _I’m unarmed, outnumbered and most importantly I have to protect Liz no matter what!_

In the end I saw only one course of action. I slowly reached into my pocket and began to pull out my wallet.

All of a sudden the fat guy lunged at Liz grabbing her shoulder. “Let’s take the bitch too!” he screamed.

In an instant it felt like a fire within me sparked up, a flood of warmth, anger and fear surged forth all at once. With a speed which surprised even myself, my fist clenched and hurtled straight at the guy holding Liz. I clocked him square in the jaw and sent him tumbling back towards the alley.

I pushed Liz clear of the coming fight and heard her land with a thump in the alley behind me, at least she would be safer.

My right arm raised to block the stocky man’s punch as my left arm swung around to counter blow and hit him in the side of the ribs.

It was then that I felt a sharp pain and as I turned my head to see the cause, skinny’s arm was outstretched and burying a knife into my shoulder. I pushed him back away from me and the pain of the knife exiting far exceeded the initial stabbing.

Then a scream from behind me shut out the rest of the world. From the corner of my eye I saw the fat guy lunge out a punch towards Liz, who was now sitting up. His fist made contact and I saw her cheek distort from the impact.

The world turned red, I could hear my heartbeat thumping in my ears and could feel that fire turn into an inferno. Flashes of the terrible memories from SAO flew through my mind as rage overcame me.

What followed were lapses of consciousness as one second I was pelting the fat guy in the face with my foot. The next I was throwing the stocky man to the floor while applying pressure to his shoulder, hearing a loud pop in the process. Finally I saw the skinny man grimacing as I grabbed his wrist and pulled the knife from his hand with a painful grip I had learnt in my Jujutsu class.

When I came back to reality the stocky and skinny men were getting back to their feet with me looming over them, a blade in my hand. I let out a guttural cry and stepped to engage slashing out with the knife. However the two men ran in unison and all I managed to do was cut the back of one of their coats.

My anger screamed for me to chase them but my heart begged me to go to Liz. In the end, as the red fog cleared, it was my heart that won.

I dropped the knife to the floor and sprinted back to Liz, jumping over the fat man who seemed to be out cold on the floor. Liz lay on the floor clutching her cheek in one hand and crying uncontrollably. I dropped to my knees by her side and put a hand on her head. Tears began to fall from me too as I looked at her with a whirling mess of anger and sadness.

“It’s ok Liz… it’s over… it’s over” I said through gasped breaths.

Liz opened her eyes and gasped before slamming them shut again and leaping towards me. She grabbed me by the arm and screamed at the top of her lungs “Tyzn you’re hurt, we need an ambulance!” she plunged her hand into her pocket and pulled out her phone. With shaking hands she started to dial for emergency services.

Her cheek was already red and beginning to swell, keeping my bubbling rage turning over just below the surface. I felt an urge to continue laying into the unconscious man behind me and struggled to keep myself from doing so.

Over Liz’s sobs I could just make out what was being said by the person on the other end of the line and despite it Liz was doing great at keeping her answers precise and accurate, that is up until I heard the voice on the line ask her to calm down. “Don’t tell me to fucking calm down!” Liz screamed.

I couldn’t help but laugh at her response, but when I did I felt a wave of dizziness come over me. Glancing down at my shoulder for the first time I realised that the wound was deep and was still letting out blood at an alarming rate. I tried to look up to Liz to warn her but I felt my whole body go limp and the world go dark.

“Tyzn… NO!” was the last thing that I heard.


	20. Not Fair

Chapter 19- July 13th 2025 "Not Fair"

Tokyo

Rika sat on her knees in silence looking down at the limp body of Reo. The operator on the line continued to talk but she had no idea what was being said. Her body was frozen, her lip was quivering and all she could do was whimper.

_It's not fair! Why did this happen? Why?_

_Why did he jump in like that?_

_Why is he always trying to protect me after all the mean things I say to him?_

Images of The past few months flashed through Rika's mind.

It flooded in as she remembered the worry that Tyzn had died in SAO, the nights that she dreamed of his body exploding in the death animation and waking up screaming.

The joy of seeing a message from him appear on the forums and the warmth and comfort it bought to her heart.

Seeing him in the real world for the first time and the way she had to bite down her nervousness to keep up the tough girl facade.

Tyzn asking her on a date and the flutter in her heart that it caused.

The first date at dicey café where Tyzn had made her laugh for hours and all the dates since which had made her so happy.

And now the fight which could end it all.

"NO!" Rika screamed dropping her head to Reo's chest. "You can't do this! Don't take him from me!" The tears started to flood again as the distant sounds of sirens drew closer. "Don't go Tyzn! You can't, please!"

As Rika screamed into his chest she felt a hand touch her shoulder. It made her jump up as a paramedic helped her to stand. She watched through a haze of tears as the police handcuffed the man on the floor while paramedics checked his vitals. Her gaze dropped back down to Tyzn on the floor as two more paramedics applied gauze to his wound.

"Come on let's get you to hospital." The paramedic with her said.

"No I'm staying with Tyzn... I mean Reo." Rika replied in a quiet voice. Dried blood from Reo's wound had stuck to her face, probably making her own swollen cheek look far worse than it was.

"He's in good hands and we need to get you some X-Rays for you cheek." The paramedic continued trying to get his patient to move.

Rika snapped her head around, clear anger in her voice and body language. "I said No! I'm not going to leave him got it!?"

The paramedic held up his hand in apology and calmly said "Ok, once he's in the ambulance you can sit in the back with me."

"Thank you" Rika said through tears "and... I'm sorry." Sobs carried forth as emotions of fear and anger created a whirlpool in her head. At its centre was Reo.

"It's ok, no need to apologise to me, you're the one who is hurt my dear."

"Is... Is he going to be ok" Rika sobbed out as Reo was placed on a gurney. His face had gone pale as if all the life from his body was being sapped away.

"He's lost a lot of blood but we'll know more once we get back to the hospital." The paramedic replied trying to be professional and sympathetic and falling somewhere in between.

Reo was loaded into the ambulance and the paramedic helped Rika in. Once they were underway Rika leant forwards taking Reo's hand in hers and resting her forehead onto his arm.

"Please be ok" She pleaded with a sigh before the tears started again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short, angst filled chapter this time but I wanted to get one in from a more Liz based perspective. 
> 
> Hope Y'all like it :D


	21. From the Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like a complete moron I uploaded the chapter after this one first and only realised as I went to add what was meant to be the next chapter :/
> 
> Anyways it should all be in order again now.

Chapter 20 July 14th 2025 “From the Heart”

Tokyo Hospital

My eyes opened, slowly revealing fluorescent lighting. A strange feeling of Deja-vu flooded in, at least this time it wasn’t stinging my eyes. I shifted slightly and felt a sharp pain in my left shoulder.

_Ow! I take it back! Stinging eyes were better!_

I grimaced and looked around the room, spotting a clock on the wall. As my eyes focused I saw that it was 11am.

“11am? How is it 11am? We left the mall at 7pm” I whispered to myself. I tried to think back, to see what had happened. I remembered leaving the mall with Liz and walking along but the rest was hazy. The more I focused, the more the fog lifted, but it was interrupted by sounds from outside the door as it swung open.

“I’m sorry mum but I’m not just going…” Liz stood in the doorway with a bandage on a slightly swollen cheek. Seeing me with my eyes open had stopped her midsentence.

But for me, seeing her injured beauty made my blood boil and the flood of memory of the big man punching Liz came flooding back.  _That bastard hurt Liz!_ My fist clenched once more as my anger increased.

Liz shot across the room to me and leapt onto my bed face down. She began to sob and I could hear her voice muffled by my chest as she spoke.

“You big dummy, why did you jump in to fight like that?”

I put my arm around Liz and felt my anger subside.  _Liz is safe_. I began to feel joy once more and struggled to stop my voice cracking as I spoke.

“To protect you silly, I won’t let anything bad happen to you, never again you hear?” Liz sobbed a few times more. “You mean the world to me Liz, I’m sorry that I wasn’t fast enough to keep you safe.” I was doing so well until the end but my voice finally cracked and tears began to form in my eyes.

It was only then that I noticed a woman in the doorway with a smile on her face. I turned to look at her and she bowed towards me.

“I’m sorry, my name is Mei Shinozaki. I’m Rika’s mother.” My eyes went wide,  _this probably isn’t the best place or situation to have a first parent meeting._   _Oh crap she probably heard what I just said to Liz too!_

“My name is Reo Nakumura, it’s a pleasure to meet you miss” I said in as calm and respectful voice as I could muster.

“Rika told me what happened, so I believe the pleasure is all mine” Mei replied with a big smile. “I’m glad she has friends like you watching out for her.”

“Thank you miss.” Mei moved her hands behind her back and turned to leave and as she reached the doorway she turned back.

“Do either of you want a drink or something to eat?” She asked still wearing her smile. Liz shook her head on my chest.

“No thank you” I replied.

“Ok then, I’ll leave you two love birds alone” Mei said as she closed the door. Liz’s head shot up.

“MUM!!” Liz screamed and we could hear a little laughter from behind the door. Liz then turned to look at my face and seeing her injury I felt the urge to try and comfort her. I raised a hand to her cheek and carefully put it over the dressing. Liz raised a hand to meet mine and gently placed it on top.

Liz smiled at me, a smile which could wash away all the pain in instant, for a while before slumping back down again. “Errgh, that was embarrassing”

“What was?” I asked.

“Duh, my mum.”

“She seemed ok to me.”

Liz sighed as she moved her body to lie on top of me and placing her uninjured cheek down on my chest. “You aren’t meant to have your boyfriend meet a parent after you’ve only been dating two months. And definitely not after he was just stabbed.”

I raised my eyebrows and replied in a mocking tone “So I’m your boyfriend now huh?” Liz gave me a dig in the ribs. “Ah watch it! I was just stabbed you know.”

Liz turned to look up at me with a grin on her face. “Of course you are my boyfriend, keep up slowpoke.” A big smile formed across my face. “Now just shut up and cuddle me you dofus!”

I let out a sigh as Liz snuggled up to me, laying her head back down on my chest. I wrapped my uninjured arm around her back and held her tight.

“You know what Tyzn?”

“What?”

“This is the second time in a month that we’ve had someone try to mug us and you have fought them off, I’m beginning to think you are secretly a bad boy.”

“Oh god I hope I’m not” I said with a chuckle.

“It’s ok” Liz said, giggling back “Bad boys are sexy!” She snorted out another laugh at her own comment. The warmth I could feel from Liz, both from her body and her personality, drowned out any pain I had in my shoulder.

These had become the moments I lived for, having Liz near to me radiating her happiness for me to collect in my very soul.

“Oh and I haven’t forgot that you pushed me on backside! You’ll pay for that one day.” Liz went on.

“I was trying to keep you safe.” Again I looked down at her injured cheek. “Guess I kinda fucked that up didn’t I?”

“You did protect me, that guy must have had way worse than a punch to the face in mind.”

“Yeah I suppose, I should have been quicker though.”

“Oh shush” Liz replied.

We sat in silence while I idly stroked Liz’s soft brown hair. Eventually I heard her breathing become heavier and steadier indicating she had fallen asleep.

In that moment I finally felt at ease. No fear, no anger, just the warmth of Liz and the thoughts of how lucky I was to have it.

Liz’s mum popped her head around the corner of the door a few minutes later. I smiled up at her as she did so but as she saw Liz fast asleep her own smile grew bigger. She looked back up at me and raised a hand before slowly closing the door again.

Eventually I too fell back to sleep. That was until my brother disturbed the peace.

The door came crashing open making both me and Liz jump into the air. Liz shuffled to my side as if trying to hide behind me as Sora came marching in.

“Hey tough guy, just cause you have some muscle now doesn’t mean you can become batman!” He belted out.

“Sora? For fuck sake couldn’t you have knocked first?” I said angrily. It seemed to only be then that Sora noticed Liz as she cowered in confusion behind me.

“Whoops sorry for that, didn’t know you had company. Although this is a hospital so you could keep it decent.” I felt my face flush with anger and embarrassment at his comments.

“It was decent until you came careening in!”

“Look I’m sorry but I couldn’t help it. My little brother was just stabbed and I thought he might need some cheering up.” Sora still had a goofy smile on his face.

“So you decided to scare the shit outta me?”

“Well now that I think about it, it’s probably not the best thing to do after you just had stiches huh?”

“You think? And you’re the one studying physiotherapy!” I could still feel my anger at Sora seething but as we had become closer over the last few months I had learnt some of his tells, and right now he was hiding his own fear.

“Ok, ok. I’m sorry little brother. You had me worried though. Well, all of the family really, mum was just about to book train tickets to get here before I talked her out of it.”

“Talked her out of it?” I asked confused.

“Yeah I told her that I would come see you and promised to tell her if anything was wrong. She said she would call you later too.” I didn’t know that Sora could be persuasive enough to stop my mum from charging her way down here. Still he made a good point, I hadn’t even considered telling my family I was ok, but now that Sora mentioned it I felt like a jerk for not doing it.

“So anyway Reo, you gonna introduce me to your friend?” Sora asked while peering over my chest. I glanced down to see Liz still behind me looking groggy and confused.

“Oh right this is Rika, a friend from school. And Rika this is my asshat brother, Sora.”

“H-Hi…” Liz said timidly. It was strange seeing her be timid at all, but given the rude awakening I could sympathize.

“Oh so you are the famous Rika eh?” I felt my face flush as I saw Liz’s face do the same and a confused look appeared on her face. “You know my brother was shit scared to ask you out, I had to give him a kick up the butt to get him to!”

“SORA!” I shouted “What the hell?” I felt Liz giggle at the exchange but it did little to subdue my embarrassment.

“What? The girl deserves to know how scared you were of losing her as a friend and how you were so afraid of upsetting her.” Sora looked to Liz with a smile and said “Seriously, he may be a bit of a dork, but he is the most loyal and kind person I know. Look after him for me.” Sora finished with a wink.

To my surprise I felt Liz nod as she replied to Sora “yeah I will, though he’s my hero now I suppose.”

Sora smiled and nodded “Good to hear it”. He clapped his hands loudly making Liz jump once more “Well I got here pretty late and visiting time is up soon, I better call mum and tell her you’re a badass.” He said with a wink. “Good to meet you Liz” He said while leaving. As Sora left Liz’s mum peeked her head around the corner.

“Rika honey, you’ve been discharged and visiting time finishes in five minutes, we had better get going soon.” Mei closed the door to give us some privacy and Liz let out a big sigh.

“I wanna stay here with you.” She said pouting.

“I’m ok, you should head home and rest.” I replied trying to reassure her.

“Yeah I know but I’ll miss you” I was surprised to hear Liz say that but it warmed my heart.

“I’ll miss you too”

Liz pulled herself over me and stood by the bed. She leant down for what I assumed was a kiss on the cheek but to my surprise gave me a quick peck on the lips that left me yearning for more. As she pulled back I seized my chance and pulled her down into a more passionate kiss. As our lips touched again I imagined her pulling back and chastising me for doing so. But instead she reciprocated the kiss as her mouth opened slightly.

It felt like electricity was dancing around my body and as our lips parted again a sense of longing for the feeling to return formed. Liz smiled down at me.

“Thank you Tyzn, I’ll come back tomorrow after school, everyone else will probably want to come too.”

I gave her a nod and she walked towards the door. Before leaving she looked back. “See you soon, hero.” She said with a giggle.

As the door closed again I felt a sense of loss as the negative emotions came rushing back in. Now with full recollection of most of last night, up until Liz got punched anyway. But no matter how hard I tried to focus in attempt to remember the rest, I could only recall slight flashes of memory. The only thing I could recall was a burning anger, a desire to do harm, even to kill.

I became terrified in an instant. People with a desire to kill was exactly what I had fought so hard to stop in SAO, the Laughing Coffin guild.

_Am I becoming like them?_

_What if my rage makes me hurt someone I care about?_

_What if I hurt Liz?_

Tears started to fall from my eyes at the thought. I was sure that this other side of me had surfaced due to a desire to protect Liz, but I had no idea how to control it or if it was even possible.

No matter what I couldn’t take the risk, for all I knew this other side of me had the capacity to harm Liz, so that meant she was better off without me.


	22. Broken

Chapter 21 July 17th 2025 “Broken”

SAO Survivors School Hostel

I walked into my room and threw my keys onto the table by the door. Almost as if in a trance I shuffled my way to my bedroom and laid down. Despite being in a hospital bed for nearly three days I felt exhausted. The thoughts of what I had done and what I had to do next terrified me, there was no hope for sleep.

The police had been to take a statement from me and I could only assume that they had done the same with Rika at some point. They had told me that the guy I had knocked out had ratted out his friends and they were all in custody. One of the officers seemed impressed that I had managed to fight off 3 assailants alone, knocking one out and dislocating the shoulder of another no less.

I still couldn’t remember the fight in full, adding to my fear of what could happen if the other side of me was to get unleashed again. My psychiatrist from the SAO Survivors School had come to visit me in hospital and she had assured me that it was normal for patients with PTSD to have such ‘breaks’ in memory when under stress. She had advised me to find something that would calm me down to focus on in such situations.

As I thought back to what had happened the only reason I had snapped back to reality was the thought of Liz.  _Could it be that she was my remedy in these situations?_  The problem was that she was unaware of just how broken I really was and using her as a calming influence would put her at risk.

I had asked Asuna and Kirito about it when they came to visit me in hospital. They had seen the same horrors I had, if not more, so they seemed like the best people to ask.

I explained my PTSD and my breaks from reality. How I had scared Rika at the mall when I had zoned out. How much I wanted to keep to keep Liz safe from it and how I had decided that our relationship had to be called off because of it.

Asuna had looked me straight in the eye and said “I know you’re scared but trust me. I know Liz, and she wasn’t afraid of you for zoning out, she was afraid of what affect it has on you.”

“And I know you.” Kirito added “You wouldn’t hurt anyone you care about, no matter what. Let’s face it those guys had it coming.”

“Before you make this decision, please talk to Liz and explain it to her too. You don’t need to throw away what you two have.” Asuna asked of me.

I decided to follow their advice but I felt too scared to talk to Rika in person, I couldn’t take seeing her afraid of me in the real world where she couldn’t just log out of the conversation, so it seemed only logical to meet her in the virtual. I had made arrangements to meet with Liz in ALO but I hadn’t told her what about, at the time I felt it was better this way.

Realising that it was already 7:30pm I hurriedly placed my AmuSphere on my head and logged into ALO.

I flew to the base of the world tree where I and Liz were going to meet. As I approached the clearing where we were to meet I noticed Liz already there, sitting down on a log. I felt apprehensive about what need to be done, but I had little choice.

“You’re late” she said to me as my feet touched the floor.

“I’m sorry, the traffic home was a nightmare” I replied timidly, not even able to look at her face.

“I suppose I can let you off then” she said with a little smirk. “What’s wrong though, you sounded pretty upset when you called earlier?”

I could feel the anxiety build within and as I went to speak my mouth refused to move. I took a big gulp of air to push it all down and started again.

“You know when I zoned out the other day?”

“U-huh” Liz replied seeming concerned.

“Well… the reason that happened is… I have PTSD… It makes me remember things… the bad things from SAO.” Liz sat still for a little while before standing and putting her arms around me. Her embrace was as warm as ever, even with the dulled down senses of Full Dive tech. The thought of losing her touch scared me almost as much as the fear of hurting her, but not enough to change my mind.

“And what bad things do you see when you zone out?” she asked.

“I see people... die…” Tears began to fill my eyes as I spoke. “All the people I couldn’t save.”

“Shhh, It wasn’t up to you to save everyone and you fought as hard as you could. Everyone knows that.” Liz said calmingly and holding me tighter.

“That’s not all though… That fight the other day where you got hurt. I had what the school psychiatrist called… a break.” By this point I was crying, unable to hold it in any longer. It knew this was the end of me and Liz as a couple. How could she ever be with someone as broken as me? As dangerous as me?

“I’m sorry, what does that mean?” Liz asked. Her words were full of compassion.

“It means that I don’t know what happened. Like… like another side of me took control… a side of me who wanted to really hurt them…. Kill them even. I’m… I’m sorry Liz but I don’t want to ever hurt you because of it. I don’t think you… you should be with me.” A large sob came barrelling from my mouth as my crying continued in earnest.

“No” Liz said firmly. “That’s not up to you alone.” She stepped back from me and took my face in her hands guiding my gaze to hers. Tears were streaming down her own face now but she looked at me with determination. “I know you would never hurt me. You are the kindest and gentlest person I know.” Liz let out a few sobs before continuing.

“You wanna know what I saw while you fought those assholes? I saw you fight to protect me, and I saw the look in your eyes when you realised I was hurt.”

Her voice was raising higher and higher in volume until she was shouting. “I watched you get stabbed… fucking stabbed! And you still kept fighting! Then when the fight was over you were back to being the Tyzn that I know.”

Liz shook her head like she was trying to clear her mind. “I don’t give a shit what you or that psychiatrist wants to call it. What I saw was the strongest person I know doing what he had to, to protect me!”

I grabbed onto Liz and pulled her close. Fresh tears were flowing from my eyes. “I’m sorry Liz. I’m just so broken and you deserve better... I’m so scared that I’ll hurt you!”

“I have everything I want in you” she replied hugging me tight. “I want to be with you forever, no matter what.”

“So do I, I… I can’t survive without you.” My crying had subsided but my sobs remained. Liz once again backed up slightly and grabbed my cheeks, but this time she pulled my face down to hers and kissed me like we had in the hospital.

I could feel all the anxieties wash away. I had told Liz everything, even more than I had told Asuna and Kirito. Yet she seemed determined to accept it despite my broken state.

As our lips parted again Liz looked into my eyes. Her face was red but I couldn’t tell if she was blushing due to embarrassment or just from the crying. Eventually she smiled again and spoke.

“Tyzn, thank you. Thank you for trusting me and telling me all of this. I don’t care how broken you think you are, I’m always going to be there for you… dummy.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More angst than you can swing a sword at in this one :). 
> 
> Just as another heads up. I have been looking back through all my chapters as well as other works including some more reading of sections from the LNs. What I have realised is that I need to be a little more descriptive, especially when conversations are happening. 
> 
> I intend to go back and fix this in the next few chapters. This hopefully wont affect my upload schedule but if there is a delay this will be the likely reason.


	23. Extra Edition

Chapter 22- July 24th 2025 “Extra Edition”

SAO Survivors School Hostel

It was 9pm evening and I was just finishing up a report for my language class. I was determined to get as much in the way of homework assignments done at the beginning of the summer holidays as possible so that I could spend more time with Liz.

As I typed up the last sentence I leaned back with a long sigh.  _One down 11 to go._ I thought to myself as I recalled the various projects I still had to complete. But I had to get all that work done if I wanted to graduate in two years.

However between my part time job at the electronics store and all this homework sucking up my time, me and Liz getting to spend time together was already seeming further and further away.

As I looked through the rest of my assignments my phone began to ring. To my surprise it was Asuna calling at such a late hour. I accepted the call.

_“Hey Asuna.”_

_“Hey Tyzn, sorry to call so late.”_

_“It’s not a problem, I was just finishing up a report for school. What’s wrong?”_

_“Nothing, I was just calling to see if you were free tomorrow.”_

_“I have work tomorrow afternoon but I’m free in the evening. What did you have in mind?”_

_“Well Yui wants to see a whale” Asuna said with a chuckle. “Kirito heard a rumour that there is a quest in ALO which has a whale in it and promised Yui we would try to do it. I was wondering if you wanted to help.”_

_“Of course, I’m in.”_

_“Thanks Tyzn, its gonna make Yui so happy!”_

_“What time are we meeting in ALO then?”_

_“Around 8:30 at Thule Island.”_

_“Ok I’ll be there.”_

_“Thanks again Tyzn, it means a lot to us that you would help Yui like this.”_

_“Of course, any time Asuna.”_

 

* * *

 

The following day came around and the time at work seemed to drag on and on. I didn’t know if it was just the work or the fact that all I could think about was the chance to see Liz later.

At around lunchtime I received a text from Liz explaining all the fun they were having teaching Suguha to swim and calling me a “Nerd” for not going along too.

These texts were shortly followed by a picture of Liz in her swimsuit while she looked sultry into the camera. The swimsuit certainly didn’t leave much to the imagination, showing off her sexy legs and cleavage. It certainly didn’t help me concentrate.

However I eventually managed to regain my composure and make it to the end of my shift. Unfortunately the store was still busy so it took me a while before I could slip away to head home. It was lucky that Kirito and I had recently got our motorbikes which helped with getting home faster, but I still arrived back at the dorms later than I would have liked. As I came hurtling through my rooms door I checked the time on my phone.

_8:12!_

“Shit!” I said to myself as I grabbed my AmuSphere, hurriedly placed it onto my head and said “Link Start”.

As soon as I was logged in I set off at top speed towards the south and Thule Island. To avoid the Legrue Corridor I swung by the Butterfly Valley which would save time on the trip. It was a good thing that Leafa had been giving me flying lessons lately as it had massively increased my speed.

As I approached the Island the readout on the AmuSphere indicated that it was already 8:34 in real time. I felt bad for arriving late but at least I wasn’t too far behind. I noticed four players in the water near a beach and could make out the bright pink hair of Lisbeth even from this distance.

Knowing that she was also here already made me smile as I hurtled down toward the beach and landed hard in front of a parasol set up nearby. As the sand fell back to the ground I saw Klein and Kirito laying on some beach chairs looking shocked at my sudden arrival.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late.” The two continued to stare at me with exacerbated looks on their faces.

From behind me I heard a familiar voice shout out “Hey dummy what took you so long?” I turned around to see Liz in the water waving her arms at me. She had a rather exotic looking bikini on which left me speechless.

It was exposing far more than her IRL swimsuit did. It was that which made me realise how closely Lisbeth resembled Rika’s body shape in the real world, in fact the only discernable difference that I could see was the ears and hair colour of the avatar.

I gave her a timid wave back when suddenly she was hit with a water breath attack from Pina and sent toppling back into the sea. I couldn’t help but laugh as I watched the girls all splash around in the water, yet my eyes were constantly glued to Liz.

Klein and Kirito were discussing the quest and what we were likely to find but I was too distracted by the warm sun and fresh seaside breeze to know what they were saying, I had been cooped up indoors most of the day after all. Eventually Klein jumped up. “Let’s hit this!” he shouted “Hey guys, it’s time we start saddling up for the quest!”

The girls all made their way up to the beach as myself and Kirito equipped our gear and discussed the difficulties we could face with fighting underwater. Klein just stood there and after exchanging some words with the girls as they passed he fell to his knees, I have no idea why. Kirito went on to explain to everyone about our objective to spot a whale and we all flew out over the ocean.

Whilst flying along Liz took my hand in hers and squeezed it tight. Glancing in her direction I saw her giving me a big smile. “Glad you could make it hero! You enjoy the picture I sent you?” She asked with a wink.

“Yeah, kinda made it hard to work though” I smiled back making Liz snigger and her smile grow wider.

“You perv!” she giggled out “Don’t go showing that around, that’s for your eyes only!”

I felt my face grow a little flushed as embarrassment crept in. “Errrr… I wouldn’t do that anyway” I replied timidly.

Liz giggled some more and despite my embarrassment I still couldn’t help but smile back at her, the way she could do that was one of the reasons I liked… no loved… her so much.

I could feel an urge to just blurt out my confession of love right then but a fear and anxiety took hold freezing my mouth before I could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much like back in the ‘End of the World’ Chapter, I’m not going to recount everything as it happens in the anime and at this point there is very little I could add or change about how it plays out either, other than substituting Tyzn for Agil in events as they unfold.
> 
> Also there are very few opportunities for Tyzn and Liz to get any character development in during the quest.
> 
> For this reason I’m going to leave this chapter off here, but the next chapter will be an original story I promise. :D


	24. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of fluff in this one! Be sure to comment bellow if you have any advice or are just liking the story :D

Chapter 23 August 16th 2025 "Confessions"

Kirito and Asuna's Apartment, ALO

 

It was the night of the 'Guardians Challenge'. The developers of ALO had arranged a tournament in association with MMO Today. They had recreated the final raid of the original ALO which was intended to be impossible. Of course Kirito had disproved that.

The tournament however was not about clearing the boss but rather surviving the longest. Wave after wave of guardians would spawn in increasing numbers to assault each team, it was inevitable that it would eventually overwhelm them.

The rules were rather simple. Each team was comprised of two players and the timer only stopped when the last player was killed by the never ending swarm of Guardians. Magic and healing items were disallowed however, making it a true test of sword and flying skill.

This kind of challenge was already right up Kirito's alley so when Leafa had requested his help to compete he eagerly accepted. Leafa's motives were not for the challenge itself, but for the grand prize. The team that lasted the longest would receive <<The Shifting Blade>>, a legendary weapon which would alter its properties based on the race of its wielder. What's more it was a Katana, Leafa's preferred weapon.

The rest of our friends had gathered at the apartment to watch the challenge as it was streamed by MMO Today. An assortment of snacks had been arranged and by this point most of it had been eaten. Klein and Agil sat at the bar in the back of the lounge watching over the heads of myself, Lisbeth, Silica and Asuna on the couch while Yui sat happily on Asuna's shoulder.

It seemed that the mods had chosen to save the strongest fighters in the game until last as Kirito and Leafa were slated to be the final contestants. On the large screen before us were the penultimate fighters in the challenge, General Eugene and his brother Lord Mortimer.

They had already smashed the previous record of 10:40 and were well into their eleventh minute. However Mortimer was perilously close to death and as the Guardian Bowmen unleashed a volley of arrows, Mortimer exploded into a ball of flame as his remain light flickered to the floor.

This seemed to throw Eugene into a rage as he catapulted himself into a large group of guardians, screaming and cutting wildly. Silica and Liz looked on with eyes wide, dazzled by the spectacle. Meanwhile Asuna and I smirked as we, veterans of SAO's Assault team, saw it for what it really was. Eugene allowed his rage to control him and put himself in a precarious position, it was only a matter of time before he would be surrounded and defeated.

A Whirling ball of guardian swordsmen plummeted towards Eugene and he was quickly obscured from view. Shortly afterwards a flash from within the ball showed that the last of his HP was gone and the round was over. The timer read 12:23.

"12 minutes 23 seconds? That's gonna be a tough time to beat for anyone." Silica said sounding a little dejected.

"Nah, Kirito and Leafa have beat these things before, they can do it again!" Klein said from behind us and we all turned to face him and Agil.

"Yeah daddy won't let anyone beat him. Those guardians don't stand a chance!" Yui called from Asuna's shoulder.

It was still a little odd to me even after all these months that an AI which had become unshackled felt such admiration towards Kirito and Asuna. But despite what all the movies would tell us I failed to believe that Yui would ever rise up against a human. She was the gentlest possible robot overlord I could imagine.

"And with Leafa watching his back he'll be able to focus on cutting them down to size." Liz added.

"I'm most interested in how long it'll take before Kirito pulls out his second sword" I mused.

"Why wouldn't he go in already using his dual-wielding?" Silica inquired. "I mean even though it's not a skill you can train up but he is still stronger with it."

"Yeah that's true, but it's not Kirito's style" Asuna interjected. "He only seems to pull out that trick when he takes a fight really seriously."

"Well then he must be going in all guns blazing. He's not gonna want to let his little sister down." Klein added from the bar.

"Gotta say, as odd as it sounds I'm with Klein on this one." Agil said.

"And what is that supposed to mean huh?" Klein asked feigning hurt feelings at Agil's comment and making us all chuckle.

An announcement from the TV caught our collective attention back.

"And now it's time for our final contestants, the famous fighters Kirito and Leafa, to enter the arena. This pair are one of only a few players involved in the successful raid on the original Guardian Boss Room. Kirito is well known for his use of heavy, one-handed swords." The first announcer of the tournament, a Cait-Sith, said.

"And the sylph, Leafa is known as being one of the fastest and most acrobatic fliers in the game. Combining this with her exceptional katana skills makes her a force to be reckoned with." The second Undine announcer added. "We've just got word that the contestants are ready to begin so let's start the final round of the Guardians challenge!"

At that Kirito and Leafa materialised into view via in-game teleport. The large dome arena seemed to dwarf them. As a camera zoomed in the pair Kirito could just be heard over the background noise of the countdown timer which would signal the start of the challenge.

"Ok Su... Leafa. You ready?" Kirito said. We all gave a chuckle at Kirito almost calling his sister by her IRL name.

"I'm good to go" Leafa replied.

"Alright, let's do this!" Kirito yelled as he and Leafa drew their weapons. As I expected Kirito drew just one of his swords.

"Called it!" I shouted and raised my hand in the air, eliciting grumbles from Agil and Klein. The countdown timer hit three and we all sat with baited breath as the time ticked its last few seconds. At one second left both Kirito and Leafa shot into the air, the cameras in the arena struggling to keep up with the sudden acceleration.

The first few rounds were nothing special as only a few guardians would spawn and were easily dispatched by the skilled fighters. However at around 6 minutes in the challenge really ramped up as large numbers of swordsmen and bowmen would spawn as fast as the players could eliminate them. However Kirito and Leafa continued to cut the guardians down one after the next.

At 8 minutes and 12 seconds Leafa was hit twice by a wave of swordsmen in quick succession. As she recoiled from the violent impact Kirito dove towards her and managed to block a third blow but a fourth swipe tore along his arm. Liz grabbed my hand tight as she gasped loudly at the sight. It was then that I saw the tell-tale look from Kirito's eyes.

"Now" I said and Asuna nodded beside me with a smirk.

Kirito materialised his second sword and drew it before going into a frenzy of slashes and blocks as more and more guardians dove in. Leafa, now recovered from her blows, took up position with her back to Kirito's, wielding her Katana with the same precision and ferocity as she did while practicing Kendo.

At this point the seconds seemed to last minutes themselves as the timer slowly ticked up. 11 minutes ticked past as the arena had become like watching a swarm of angry wasps trapped in a balloon. The guardians swarmed around and dove in and out at the pair whilst bowmen harassed them every time they stopped in position for any time.

Meanwhile back in the apartment we were all cheering our friends on. We collectively all cheered as a large number of guardians were taken out in quick succession and gasped as a volley of arrows slammed into Kirito.

12:10, 12:11, 12:12... looking at the remaining HP of the siblings it was going to be close as to whether they would beat Eugene's time. Suddenly the Guardians formed up into one giant ball and hurtled towards the pair.

"LETS GO!" Kirito screamed as both of the Kirigyas flew straight at the incoming swarm. Puffs of purple smoke began to flash up within the ball as guardian after guardian was dispatched. We all sat in silence watching the clock. Finally two bright flashes lit up, one after the other indicating the deaths of Kirito and Leafa's avatars bringing gasps from those of us at the party. The clock grew larger on the screen and we all cheered, jumping into the air.

**12:34!**

The images cut back to the MMO Today studio as the two announcers congratulated Kirito and Leafa on their victory and after a short interview they were handed the grand prize, <<The Shifting Blade>>.

"So what's next for the first champions of The Guardians Challenge?" The Cait-Sith Announcer asked.

"We've got a party of our friends waiting for us in Yggdrasil City" Leafa replied. "We can't wait to go celebrate with them!"

 

"Well we won't keep you any longer!" The undine replied.

 

* * *

 

By the time Leafa and Kirito arrived back at the apartment we had set up all of the 'Congratulations' banners and were all already dancing around the room. As the door swung open we all shouted "Congratulations Champions!" at the top of our lungs.

We then all took turns holding <<The Shifting Blade>> to see what unique properties it would take on in each races hands. The only one we couldn't check out between us was a Pooka, but some of them carried some nice bonuses. As an Imp the sword would extend my flight when not in moon or sunlight, massively buffing my racial trait, whilst in the hands of Liz it would cause rare materials to drop from monster rewards more often. In Leafa's hands however the sword would allow her to unleash basic wind type spells from her blade without the prerequisite spell to be chanted.

The party settled down and each of us began to mingle and talk among ourselves. Eventually our group split into the two sexes. Whilst Agil, Klein, Kirito and I spoke on the sofa the girls all collected around the bar.

"Hey Kirito I have a question for you." Klein said leaning in close to Kirito.

"Errr... Sure what's up Klein?" Kirito responded looking confused.

Klien grabbed Kirito by the collar and said in a loud voice "Why the hell didn't you just use your dual-wielding trick from the start huh?"

"Yeah I've been wondering that too" Agil added "You probably could've lasted longer if you had just used it from the go."

"Well... it's not my style I guess" Kirito replied with a chuckle. Klein let go of Kirito and looked back at my smirking face.

"Don't say anything" he said to me.

Liz then appeared before me and without saying a word sat on my lap side saddle and gave me a peck on the cheek. "Hey there hero, what's all the shouting about?" she asked. I couldn't help but smile as my whole body felt like it was glowing in her presence.

"Oh come on!" Klein pouted drawing our attention. "It's bad enough that Kirito and Asuna are always fawning over each other, now you guys are doing it too?"

Those of us within earshot chuckled and Liz replied "gotta get a move on Klein, you're getting left behind." She gave him a wink and chuckled a little more.

"You just wait!" Klein continued. "I'll meet my princess one day and she'll be the fairest in all the land!"

 

* * *

 

An hour or so later myself and Asuna were talking about the upcoming raid on the 9th floor boss of new Aincrad. We discussed how back in SAO it had been particular hard to beat because of its arena being on a frozen lake. We laughed together recalling how Kirito had struggled to stay upright during the fight as every time he used a sword skill he would become unbalanced on the ice.

I felt a pair of arms wrap around me from behind and the familiar feeling of Lisbeth's warmth pressing on my back. "Hey Asuna, mind if I borrow muscles for a bit?" she asked cheerfully.

"Not at all" Asuna said with a smile as Liz grabbed my hand and began pulling me around the room. We stepped out onto the balcony and Liz closed the sliding doors behind us. I could still make out the sounds the laughter and music from with the apartment but was more taken back by the amazing view.

From here you could see all of the south-western part of Alfheim, from the glowing towers in the forests of the Sylphs, to the fireflies moving in great swarms over the salamander territories in the distance.

Liz gazed out with a sparkle in her eye, emanating her usual radiance of warmth which would permeate my very being.

"It's beautiful up here isn't it?" She asked me after a moment's silence, snapping me out of my love-dazed state.

"Yeah it is" I replied, placing my arm around her shoulder. "Although it's still not as beautiful as you."

"Damn Tyzn" Liz snorted as she chuckled "you never give up do you?"

"Just saying what comes naturally as promised m'am." I replied with a smile. This caused Liz to laugh again, the laugh which could melt my anxieties in an instant.

Liz moved her hand up to meet my own which was drooped over her shoulder and interlocked her fingers with mine. She sighed a happy sigh and then said "Hey Tyzn, I wanna tell you something but don't freak out ok?" I nodded in response. "I'm madly in love with you... hero."

My mouth dropped open and my heart rate doubled in an instant. I went to speak but could only let out a slight squeak. Liz looked up at me and gave me a slightly annoyed look. "Errr... Hello? You gonna say something or just leave me hanging here?" She sounded somewhere between worried and pissed off.

"Sorry... I just..." I let out a cough to clear my throat of the perceived lump lodged there and continued with all the authority that I could. "I love you too Liz, more than I've ever loved anyone."

Liz gave me a dig in the ribs and a little laugh followed. "That's better! Don't leave me hanging like that you dork, you had me worried for a second."

"Sorry it was just... unexpected is all" I replied trying to salvage some dignity.

"Well you better expect it more often hero." Liz pulled me down into a quick kiss. Holding my face inches from her own she continued. "Because I loooove you, I loooove you, I loooove you...." Liz began to chant with a mischievous, childlike look. I couldn't help but laugh at her display.

I heard the door slide open behind us but Liz seemed unaware as she continued to chant. It wasn't until she realised that I had stopped laughing that she stopped abruptly and started to turn bright red. We both slowly turned our heads towards the door to see Leafa standing there, bright red herself and waving at us.

"Sorry to interrupt guys but I'm logging off, just wanted to say bye." Leafa said whilst obviously trying not to laugh. This time it was Liz who let out a squeak as she waved. However I surprised myself with my composure.

"Sure Leafa, great fighting today!" I replied.

"Thanks Tyzn" Leafa said as she slid the door back closed again.

I looked back to Liz who was holding her hands over her mouth in shock and was now a deep red shade. "Hey Liz?" I said as I removed her hands from her face with my own. "I love you too... dummy."

"Ergh" Liz let out "just shut up and kiss me."


	25. Summertime

Chapter 24 August 19th 2025 "Summertime"

SAO Survivors School Hostel

I was waiting outside of the hostel for Rika whilst leaned against my motorbike. Kirito and I had got our licences and bikes at the same time, but up until now I had only ever used it to get to and from work. However that was changing today.

It was the first time in a month where Rika and I both got a full day where we didn't have extra lessons at school or time at work and I had decided to make the most of it. In preparation for the day I had bought Rika her own helmet.

Rika had been dropping hints like crazy that she wanted to have a ride on my bike together and today seemed like the perfect time to do that. The weather was hot and our destination was quite a distance away.

Unlike my own helmet, which was a drab green colour, Rika's was a bright red colour which reminded me of her usual attire in games. To make it extra special I had made a stencil of a blacksmith hammer and spray-painted it in white, I knew that she would get a kick out of it.

Finally Rika appeared from the front gate and hurried her way over to me. I quickly hid her helmet behind my back as she approached.

"Hey hero, so what's the plan for today hmm?" Rika asked me with a big smile. She really seemed excited to be spending the day together.

"Well first of all you'll need this." I said showing her the helmet. Rika took it into her hands and let out a high pitched screech.

"You're taking me for a ride?" she asked excitedly while jumping up and down.

I gave a little chuckle in response. "Sure am, you like the helmet?"

"Yeah it's a cool colour."

"Flip it over to the other side."

Rika turned the helmet in her hands and upon seeing the hammer another screech was let out. She shot forwards to me and held me tight.

"Damn, this is so cool Tyzn!" Rika shouted before going onto tip toes to give me a series of quick kisses.

"Well we had better get going" I said with a wink before placing my own helmet on. As I sat on the bike I tapped behind me and Rika jumped on. "Hold on tight" I said as I started the engine and we pulled away.

 

* * *

 

Traffic was something of a nightmare today, had I been in a car it would have taken all day to reach our destination. It was one of the perks of having a bike that you could cut easier through traffic.

We eventually arrived at our destination, one of the large parks inside the city. We placed our helmets into one of the rentable lockers and headed off to walk around.

We found a path which led down through a heavily wooded area, perfect to escape the heat of the day. As we walked Rika hooked her am around mine and tilted her head to place it against my arm.

"I'm so glad we can finally spend some time together, just the two of us." I said.

"Uh-huh, and with no Asuna and Kirito trying to compete for cutest couple. They just can't seem to accept that we have taken their crown." Rika said laughing to herself.

"Well, well. Did I just hear you admit you're cute" I replied with a chuckle. Rika let out a disgruntled hum.

"Nah you're the cute one with all the muscles, I'm the brains of this relationship."

"Oh really?" I replied with a laugh.

"Of course I am, don't strain yourself dear." Rika poked her tongue out at me before bursting out laughing again.

I laughed with her before replying "I dunno Liz that was pretty cute!"

"Well of course I can be cute around you, it's one of the perks you get from being my boy. Just don't go telling everyone or they might get jealous."

Eventually the path led to an open seating area with an array of shops selling food and drinks. Rika broke into a run, pulling me along with her, and stopped before an ice-cream stall. I could practically see her salivating as she looked at the different flavours on offer.

Rika eventually settled on a strawberry and vanilla cone while I got an apple flavoured one. We sat down at one of the available tables and Rika started scoffing down her ice-cream.

"Damn its hot today" I said as I finished off my cone. "Reminds me of the 52nd floor in Aincrad."

"Oh come on dofus it's not that hot, that floor is a literal desert!" Rika said with a mouthful of ice-cream.

"Yeah, but I preferred the cold floors. I always have liked the cold."

"You would have loved where me and Kirito went to get materials then. That place was freezing!" Rika said, before swallowing the last mouthful down.

"That was to make <<Dark Repulser>> right?" My interest was piqued. "What was the story behind that anyway?"

"Well... The first time I met him that asshole broke my masterpiece sword against his <<Elucidator>>. Testing its durability he said!"

"Holy crap! I'm surprised you let him live after that." Liz took great pride in her weapons so I knew that the sword must have been good for her to call it that.

"Oh trust me I wanted to smack him so bad, not that it'd do any good in a safe zone. Instead like an idiot I told him where to get better materials and that I had to go with him." Rika seemed to be enjoying regaling me with the story.

"So where did you guys go then?"

"The 55th floor in the West Mountains, there was a quest to retrieve an item from the crystal dragon that could be used in crafting. But that dumbass didn't tell me how cold it would be." I laughed at Rika, I wanted to say something about going up a mountain being kinda explanatory, however I decided to avoid getting her wrath. "Anyway we got the item, turned out it was dragon shit!"

"What? The Dark Repulsor was made... with dragon shit." I burst out laughing which made Rika laugh too.

"I know! Turns out the dragon ate the crystals and pooped them out stronger! Good thing I was wearing gloves." Rika said still laughing and wiping a tear from her eye. "Looking back now it was funny, but at the time I was livid and scared shitless."

"I bet, I wish we had adventures like that when we were in SAO." I wondered how things would've turned out if we had.

"Nah, by the time you came along I was done with risking my neck. You reckless idiots served that role well enough. And with all the rare materials you bought me I didn't need to go out myself anymore." Rika had calmed back down and placed her hand on top of mine across the table.

"You're probably right, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt when we were on a quest together." I could feel myself zoning out again, just like at the mall, but being with Rika allowed me to push the memories aside.

Rika gave my hand a squeeze. "Oi! Don't talk like that. We're together now and that's all that matters right."

I smiled back to Rika, she was definitely getting good at keeping me under control. "Right. Come on lets go for a bit more of a walk, sitting in the sun is killing me."

"You wimp." Rika scoffed.

 

* * *

 

We spent the rest of the day walking and talking together and left as the sun was beginning to set. We arrived back at the hostel just as the last of the sun's rays were cresting the horizon. As I parked my bike up and clamped its wheel Rika pulled me into a long kiss.

"Thanks for today Tyzn. It was the best day I've had all summer!" she beamed at me after the kiss.

"I wish we could spend more days like this." I said in reply.

"One day we will hero, don't worry." Rika gave me another quick kiss before saying "I love you."

"And I love you Liz." I replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was another fluffy chapter, and the next one will be too :) so I hope you all like the more romanticised direction the story is going in cause its only gonna get more fluffy as time goes on :P
> 
> The chapter after the next is a start of a little bit of lemon but I have an idea of how to write the chapters to allow people to skip those sections if they like.


	26. Halloween

Chapter 25- October 31st 2025 “Halloween”

Tokyo

It still felt so odd to be dressed up as my SAO avatar in the real world, especially when I was walking to the Dicey Café. I could feel people watching me as I walked past with my long, dark green coat flapping in the wind and a chest plate gleaming. Alongside me walked Silica, who was wearing a long blue coat and cat ears glued to the top of a headband, looking just like her ALO avatar. Minus a small blue dragon of course.

This had all been Agil’s idea, or rather his wife’s. In America it was a big event where people would dress up as horror characters and eat lots of sweets or something. In Japan however it was more of an excuse for the cosplayers to go out on the town and drink in bars. Somehow for our group this had evolved into dressing up as our avatars.

For some of us it would prove to be difficult, even if we used our SAO avatars, the clothing was quite different from what we would wear IRL.

I had got off light since Rika had made me a chest plate out of a plastic container which almost looked identical to the plate I had while in SAO, complete with the gouge marks from the second time I had met Liz. She must have got a kick out of adding that detail.

Finding a coat that looked similar had proved troublesome though, luckily I had found one similar enough in a cosplay shop.

Kirito wouldn’t have a problem, I was pretty sure I’d even seen him wear a jacket similar to his one from ALO. Then again given his fondness for black it was likely that it was just a pattern of his entire wardrobe.

Liz and Suguha would have the biggest troubles though, since their avatars even had different hair. I knew that Rika had bought some temporary hair dye for the occasion and seemed to be going all out on making her costume, not that she would let me see it.

“You’ll just have to wait like everyone else!” she had told me sternly when I had asked to get a peek. She had even refused to walk with me or Silica to Agil’s Café. I guess it made sense that Rika was taking such care in making something that she was proud of.

We finally arrived at the Café and saw Kirito’s bike already propped up against the wall. Silica and I headed inside and was greeted by Klein, Agil, Asuna and Kirito. Klein let out a long whistle and spoke “Damn, that brings back some memories, how the hell did you get a chest piece anyway?”

“Oh, Liz made it for me” I replied feeling embarrassment grow.

“Speaking of Liz, where is she?” Asuna pouted.

“She’s being stubborn about us all seeing her costume at the same time, I think she must be really proud of it” I explained.

As expected Kirito just wore a long black coat and trousers, not quite the same as either of his avatars but certainly passable.

Agil had a long sleeved green jacket on but was missing any armour. He had however put some white markings on his face in order to match his ALO avatars Gnome markings.

Klein seemed to have put in about as much effort as Kirito, wearing a long, red kimono and his signature bandana which he never seemed to take off, either IRL or in game.

Asuna had decided to recreate her ALO character and wore her characters signature white and blue colours, although she hadn’t gone as far as Rika was going to and still had her chestnut hair colour.

Suguha arrived soon after, and she had put in the most effort of all of us so far. Sugu had arrived in a revealing green dress and lace leggings. However the most impressive aspect of her appearance was the blonde wig that she had bought. How she found one that exactly matched her avatars hairstyle was a mystery.

It was already quite late and I was getting concerned so decided to text Rika.

****_Hey Liz, you still coming tonight? Everyone else is here already_ ** **

She replied pretty soon after.

****_Relax hero, I’m on my way. You cant rush perfection!_ ** **

As promised Rika arrived soon after and we all let out a gasp as she walked in. It was just like seeing Lisbeth in SAO all over again. The dress, boots, gloves and even the hair were all identical. If I was nitpicking I would point out that her eyes weren’t pink and her boobs were a little bigger than back then, but they were the only imperfections.

I stood speechless as she walked through the door and threw her arms in the air. “HI GUYS!” She shouted as everyone gasped at her.

“Wow Liz, your outfit is so cool!” Suguha said in a high voice.

“I know right, I spent days getting it just right.” Rika beamed. She always loved receiving praise for her work and it was always well deserved.

Rika made her way to me beaming a smile. “What do you think hero?” she asked with a wink.

Rather than speak and give away that I was struggling to find words, I grabbed Rika by the waist and gave her a hard kiss.

“Jeez guys get a room!” I heard Klein shout in the background.

Rika took a step back and inspected my costume with a hand on her chin. “Not bad, but your boots and coat are wrong… and you definitely didn’t have that much muscle back then” she said with a cheeky smile.

“Well you’re boobs weren’t as big back then so…” I stopped mid-sentence, I couldn’t believe I just said that. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.

Luckily Rika burst out laughing. “So been looking have you hero?” she said in a sultry yet giggly voice.

 _I’m in this deep now, might as well keep digging._ I thought to myself. “Well of course I have, you can’t miss them!”

Rika laughed some more and slapped me on the shoulder making me smile in return, although my embarrassment remained. “Oh god Tyzn, that’s priceless” she giggled. “I love you, you big dummy.”

Now with everyone present Agil began to bring food through from the kitchen. We had all pitched in to get a big meal, full of some of the unhealthiest foods we could get.

Unsurprisingly Rika went all in on the sweet food, scoffing down cake after pastry. I was quite content with the fries though, there wasn’t much in the way of American foods that I liked, but fries were by far one of the tastiest things on the planet.

It felt like the evening was over in a flash as we all said goodbye to each other and began to make our way home. We walked along with me holding one of Rika’s hands and Silica holding her other. Silica skipped along chuckling to us about how much fun she’d had while Rika let out repeated moans.

“Told you to pace yourself.” I said to Rika with a cheeky smile on my face.

“Leave me alone! You two should know what happens when someone puts that much junk food in front of me.” Rika pouted as she walked along between us.

“Hey don’t blame us! It’s you that can’t control yourself.” Silica retorted just getting a disapproving grunt from Rika in return.

“Well you can come for a run with me tomorrow if you like, gotta burn off all these calories after all.” I said to the girls.

“What!? Are you trying to kill me?” Rika blurted out making me and Silica laugh.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the next three chapters get pretty smutty. 
> 
> If you're not a fan of that I'm gonna put indications in the chapter where that content begins and ends since they also contain quite a bit of fluff.
> 
> I know of at least one IRL friend that has been looking forward to these chapters though :P


	27. The Other Side (Lemon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a warning the next few chapters have A LOT of smut and lemon content. It made sense for me to include it since the emotions involved are important to the characters development, and sex is a big part of most relationships.
> 
> I am aware that some people would rather avoid it though so I’ve made sure to place warnings before and after any smutty content.

****

Chapter 26- November 7th 2025 “The Other Side”

SAO Survivors School

 

Sitting at our usual table in the cafeteria, my group of friends were all busy eating their lunches and discussing our lives. It would have looked like a scene from any other school if we all hadn’t been years older than contemporary pupils. Asuna and Keiko talked about their plans for the weekend while myself and Kazuto discussed school.

“What are you thinking of taking for your advanced class?” Kazuto asked me, mouth half full of sandwich.

“I was thinking advanced programing, I’d love to be able to create my own games one day. Maybe even VRMMO’s.” I replied. “What about you?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I want to build something that will allow Yui to share this world with us like how we share hers.” Kazuto positively beamed. I could tell by his wide smile that the mere thought of it bought him endless joy. I couldn’t help but feel a slight tinge of jealousy at his dedication.

I glanced to my side having realised that Liz had been uncharacteristically quiet for a long time. She sat beside me, eyes glued to her lunch that she had hardly touched. She seemed a million miles away, like she was trapped in her own thoughts.

“Hey Liz, are you ok?” I said in a quiet tone. In response she looked over at me with her eyes without even turning her head.

“Tyzn can I talk to you for a second?” she eventually asked.

“Of course, what’s up?” I replied, feeling a little worried as to what had her so concerned. I was expecting Liz to just talk there and then but instead she stood up and walked to the corridor. I glanced at my friends worried faces as I stood up and followed suit.

As I met her in the hallways she was standing by the lockers, staring at the ground and had gone a shade of pink under her freckles.

She stood in silence for a few seconds before saying “I.... errrr.... want to ask something without you laughing at me or freaking out ok?”

“Of course, you have me worried Liz what’s wrong?” a slight and brief grin came to her face with those words. Apparently I conveyed how worried I was and how much I just wanted to help in the tone of my voice. It made me overjoyed to think about how good we were both becoming at reading the other without needing to say anything.

“So I was wondering… do you want to…” she trailed off for a few seconds more, still not making any eye contact. My heart was screaming at me to say something but in my head I knew that it would just make things worse for Liz. “Want to stay over for a couple of nights? In my room?” she finally blurted out.

I stood in shocked silence for a few seconds before stupidly saying “I dunno if the hostel lets pupils do that.”

Like that would matter, the desire to spend all of my time with Liz far outweighed my concern for getting into trouble.

Liz finally snapped her eyes to mine. “They never said we couldn’t. And besides my corridor only has me and one other girl on it anyway so it won’t be hard to sneak you in. “

I had never really considered it before but the hostel was split down the middle with the same number of rooms on either side. Yet, there were far fewer girls trapped in SAO then there were boys so it only made sense that the female dorm would be rather empty. “Well I suppose you’re not wrong” I eventually said.

“So do you want to or not?” Liz said sounding more frustrated.

I moved in closer to Rika, bringing her in for a hug and I kissed her gently on the top of her head. “Of course I would like to. I would spend every moment with you if I could.”

Liz backed out of the hug and looked up at me with a blank expression and bright red cheeks. We stared at each other for a short while before Liz said “ok… good, wait outside the girl’s dorm at eight.” Without warning she walked back into the cafeteria leaving me standing there with my head buzzing.

 

* * *

 

As soon as I got home from school I changed out of my uniform and hurriedly packed all I’d need into a duffle bag. Spare clothes, phone charger, toothbrush and most importantly my AmuSphere.

With the time that I had spare I went to the local store and picked up some popcorn, sweets and a nice box of chocolates for Liz. I stuffed them in my already packed duffle bag and waited the time down until I was supposed to be snuck into the girl dorms.

It felt so odd to be doing anything like this, before SAO the very thought of doing anything against the rules, much less anything like this, would have made my head pop. But for Liz I was willing to do anything.

8pm finally came and I did my best to sneak across the courtyard that split the girls and boys dorms un-noticed. I had never even stepped towards this side of the building and my heart was pounding at its implications. As I approached the doors one of them opened and I almost jumped out of my skin.

Luckily it was Liz who grabbed me by the hand and pulled me inside. “Hurry up numb nuts before someone sees you!” she whispered to me as she tugged along the corridors and up a flight of stairs. Liz was already in pyjamas and a dressing gown which fluttered behind her because of the pace of our movement.

We finally arrived at Liz’s room and she hurriedly pushed me inside before closing the door quietly. My heart was thumping in my chest as I looked around this strange environment. It was laid out the same as my own room although the sofa was replaced by a desk which had a microwave oven and stacks of school books on it.

As we both caught our breath Liz chuckled “phew, that was fun!”

“Not the word I’d use” I replied trying to calm my heart rate back down. I felt like I had just been working out for hours.

“soooo… do you wanna watch a film or something?” Liz asked me timidly. Now looking towards me I could see her flushed cheeks and a nervous smile across her lips. It was rare to ever see Liz show any nervousness at all, but these were strange circumstances for both of us.

“Sure, I bought us some snacks and a special present for you.” Liz smiled up at me and took my hand leading me into her bedroom.

Again the bedroom was similar to my own except that Liz had moved her wardrobe over to allow space for a TV to the side of her bed which was hooked up to an old games console.

“If you’re done gawking you can sit on the bed” Liz said while she started rummaging through some disk cases under her TV. I took her advice and sat down on the bed.

“DVDs? Very retro of you” I mocked as she flung case after case to the side.

“The old films are the best” Liz replied as she finally found the case she was searching for.

Liz set up her games console with the DVD and came to sit next to me on the bed, turning off her light as she passed. She took my hand in hers and said “this movie is pretty trashy but I like it so you’ll have to suck it up.”

“So long as I’m spending time with you I don’t care what we watch” I said with a smile.

“Dummy” she replied with a giggle “good answer though.”

One thing was sure, Liz wasn’t lying about the films quality. It was your typical romance movie plot just with elves for some reason. But every time something emotional happened I’d hear a slight sob and see a tear in Liz’s eye. I didn’t think she could get any cuter, seeing her like this was like finding a precious gem. It was definitely reassuring that she trusted me enough to let the tough girl persona down around me.

We both sat and watched and tucked into our snacks, Liz being particularly fond of the chocolate I got her. About half way through the movie Liz had prompted me to lie down on my back and she had snuggled up to me watching the film with her head on my chest. At first I barely breathed worried that it would distract her from the movie. But after a while the uncomfortableness got the better of me and I started to breathe normally. Luckily Liz didn’t seem to mind.

As the film came to a close and the credits started rolling Liz remained quiet. I thought she might have fallen asleep at first but then I heard a quiet voice say “Tyzn, you love me right?”

“With all my heart, forever and always” I responded.

Liz sighed and replied “I love you too”. A few seconds more passed and then Liz sighed again and in a more assertive tone said “Ok, let’s do this”.

“Huh?”

“Ergh… do I have to spell it out for you?” Liz had shifted her head to face up at me. She must have seen the confusion in my eyes as she continued. “Well when a man and a woman love eacho..”

“Oh ok I get the picture” I interrupted. My heart began to pound in my chest. I’d honestly thought that I’d only be staying with Liz, I had no idea she wanted to take this to the next level.

I felt woefully unprepared as it dawned on me that most teenage boys would have just assumed that this was what was going to happen. It took me a second to compose myself as I gulped for air and struggled to think about how to proceed. At the forefront of my mind was that despite my hormones screaming at me to not waste time, I was more concerned about messing things up between us.

“Before we go any further I just want to ask you something” I said as I gazed down into her perfect dark brown eyes. “I just want to be clear that I don’t want us to do anything if you are not ready to. I love you so much and don’t want to ruin everything by making you feel forced into this.”

“Well everyone probably thinks we have done it already so there’s no harm right?” she said in an unconvincingly mocking tone.

I shifted myself to sit up taking Liz by surprise. As she also sat up I looked her in the eyes and placed a gentle hand on her cheek. “There’s only one person whose opinion concerns me when it comes to us, and that is you. You mean everything to me and I don’t want to rush into things if you’re not comfortable, I just want to make sure you are 100% ready for this.” I was finding it hard to express my concerns without sounding like I was pushing her away and my anxiety about rushing into things was probably written all over me.

Liz stayed quiet for a while before she smiled and pulled herself in for a kiss. As our lips parted again she whispered to me “I’ve never been surer of anything before. I love you, so much.”

****** **

**** SMUT! ** **

****** **

Our lips collided again, this time however you could feel the static in their touch. I reached one arm around her back to pull her in close, which she happily obliged. Liz’s tongue gently stroked my lower lip and in natural response I reached for her tongue with my own. It was by far the most passionate kiss we had ever shared and I could feel both of us growing warmer with each passing second.

Anxiety was in the back of my mind. It was both our first time having sex and I was still worried that I would disappoint or hurt her. But those thoughts were now being gradually drowned out by the love and lust I felt in that moment.

After a while Liz’s hand found my free one and grabbed it. She began to slowly guide my hand up her hip and across her midriff before rising again. Stopping in the centre of her chest she gently moved my hand over her left breast before removing her own.

Making it very how she wanted me to proceed I began to knead her breast in my hand. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as I gently caressed one breast and then the other. I was surprised how soft and bouncy they felt in my hands.

Eventually Liz pulled my t-shirt up and over my head, only breaking our kiss for the time that was necessary. Her hand began to stoke up and down my chest and she took particular care to gently stroke my scar on my shoulder.

I decided at that moment to take some initiative and started to unbutton her pyjama top. Her lack of protest made it clear for me to continue and once all of the buttons were undone she slid the top off her shoulders without breaking our kiss.

Much to my surprise Liz wasn’t even wearing a bra underneath. With her chest exposed like this I could now more clearly feel the nipples protruding from her breasts as I continued my gentle exploration.

Seeing, or rather feeling, the opportunity I took one nipple in my fingers and began to gently twist and caress it, this got a positive response from Liz who leant into the kiss even harder and began to let out the occasional moan.

All of a sudden Liz pushed me back. My first thought was that maybe she wanted to stop but then she started to aggressively undo my trousers and pulled them clean off and my boxers quickly followed thereafter.

I already had quite the erection going on so as soon as the cloth protection was gone it sprung up into the air. Liz threw herself down onto me to continue our kiss and as she did so I felt one of her hands slowly move up my thigh. Her fingers gently moved over my testis and eventually found my rock hard member. After a few agonizingly soft movements of her fingertips up my length she eventually grabbed my penis in one hand and began to slowly stroke it up and down.

She broke her kiss for a short while to ask “does that feel good?” the only response I could manage was an “Uh-huh”. The feeling of her hand was incredible but I felt like I shouldn’t be the only one enjoying this sensation.

I pushed my hand down Liz’s stomach stopping just about her trouser line. I opened my eyes slowly to see Liz doing the same. She gave me a nod of approval and went back to kissing me intently.

With her go ahead I moved my hand further down, finding that she had no undies on either. I gently moved my fingers up and down her slit, feeling the intense heat and wetness present. Liz’s response was spectacular. She began to buck against my fingers and her moaning had intensified to the point of occurring on every breath. I slowly pushed a finger inside her which just made her react even more violently. Her grip on my penis tightened and the pace of her hand quickened as we both rode the high of intimacy. However this couldn’t last forever and I could feel myself getting close.

As if she had detected it Liz broke our kiss, sounding a little breathless as she said “Look in… the drawer” as she pointed to her bedside cabinet.

As I pulled the draw open she reached over me and pulled out a condom. As she passed it to me she commanded “get this on fast!”

I wasted no time following the order as she rolled off me and pulled her own pyjama trousers down. Once the condom was in place I rolled onto my side to face Liz and looked at her in all her naked glory. In that moment she was the most beautiful and important being in the galaxy and I felt my heart skip several beats.

Caught up in the sight I didn’t notice her growing impatience until eventually Liz grabbed me by the hair and pulled me down into another kiss as she wrapped her legs around me. My hips instinctively moved forwards and I felt her hand reach down to guide me. Once she had me lined up I broke our kiss to look her in the eye.

”You sure you’re ready?” I asked. Liz bit her lower lip and nodded in response. I slowly pushed forwards feeling her walls clamp down around my length.

As I went deeper I felt more resistance and Liz let out a slight cry causing me to stop, but she again looked at me and nodded so I pushed on. Eventually I was fully sheathed inside her, a truly incredible feeling.

I began to slowly pull out again only to thrust back, this time a little harder. Liz again let out what sounded like a pain moan bringing me to a stop.

“We can stop if you want” I said to her. If this was causing her this much pain I didn’t want to continue, despite what my raging hormones wanted.

“Nuh-uh.” She replied shaking her head slightly. “Keep going” with that Liz pulled my face down to hers and gently kissed me.

Following her advice I started to move again. The third thrust was a little quicker again causing Liz this time to let out a more pleasured moan, The fourth was quicker still and now it seemed like Liz was actually enjoying the sensation. Each thrust was eliciting a greater response urging me forwards.

Eventually we were in complete unison, Liz was lifting her hips to meet mine with each thrust and the crescendo of her moans urged me forwards. “Don’t stop… Don’t stop…. I’m so close” slipped from Liz’s mouth. Those words alone were enough to make me feel like exploding, but I held back for as long as I could.

As Liz’s orgasm hit she arched her back and let out a silent scream. Her insides pulsed and contracted around my length still sheathed within her. This proved to be the tipping point and my own orgasm came crashing down.

 

**** END OF SMUT! ** **

****** **

After a minute or so we both laid down beside each other, still panting for breath. Liz was the first of us to attempt to speak. “Wow… that was…. Incredible” she let out making me chuckle slightly. “What?!” came her angry response.

“Nothing… I’m just really glad… you enjoyed it” I replied between pants.

“Did you enjoy it too?” Liz asked timidly as she snuggled close.

“Are you kidding” I beamed back “I just got to sleep with the girl of my dreams. It was damn incredible.” My breath was returning at last and feeling Liz close was causing the already euphoric feeling to increase.

Liz put her head onto my chest and pulled the duvet over us both. “I’m glad… I love you” Liz said with a happy sigh.

“I love you too Liz” I said back. It wasn’t long before I felt the soft breath of Liz on my chest and knew that she had fallen asleep. I gently removed the condom, tied it and threw it into the bin next to the bed. I gave Liz a gentle kiss on the head and smiling to myself I too slipped into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope these warnings I added are enough to allow people to read the rest of the chapter if they like. Be sure to let me know if this is sufficient :D


	28. Surprises (Lemon)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick smut warning for this chapter. As before I've highlighted the places where it occurs, although there is a little bit of nudity which I haven't highlighted but is nothing too explanatory.

Chapter 27- November 8th 2025 "Surprises"

SAO Survivors School Hostel, Liz's Room

 

My eyes slowly opened to another morning as my brain began its usually slow boot up. I stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before remembering the night before. I could feel Liz snuggled up to me as she slept with her head on my chest.

 _This has to be the best morning I'd ever had_  I thought to myself as a warmth flooded all across my body. Here I was in bed with the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the all the world. I wished the feeling could last forever.

However Liz let out a very slight cough which roused her from her sleep. She awkwardly raised her head to face up at me as she yawned and through half closed eyes I could see her pupils adjust to the light. A smile grew across both our faces as we gazed at each other. Liz was the first to break the deadlock.

"Hey you."

"Hey yourself gorgeous. How are you feeling today?" I asked in response.

"Better for waking up to you" she said with a wink. I could feel my heart melting and I had no doubt she could tell just how much that had meant to me. Liz pulled herself up for a kiss.

As our lips parted it seemed to dawn on her that she was completely naked. Liz snatched at the covers to pull them around herself and grabbed at the dressing gown on the floor.

"I'm errrr, gonna have a shower" she said hurriedly as she put the gown on while under the covers. I felt disappointment at her decision to put on any clothing at all but decided to not embarrass her further by mentioning it.

As I laid on the bed I was still in awe at how happy I was, however it wasn't just because of what we had been up to. In fact it felt more like just spending the night together and waking up next to her had meant far more to me then the sex. I pondered whether to mention it to her but decided to wait to see if Liz would say anything about what we had done.

After a short time Liz returned from the bathroom, back in her gown but with a towel over her head which she was using to dry her hair.

"Is it ok if I have a shower too?" I asked Liz without taking my eyes off her.

"Of course it is dummy, there are clean towels in the bathroom for you." I went to stand straight up out of the bed but hesitated when I remembered that I was naked too. I wasn't overly embarrassed about my body, not like most girls including Liz seemed to be, but I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.

I looked around for my underwear and saw the previous days scrunched up just beside the bed. I put the underwear on beneath the covers just like Liz had done with her gown, got a fresh pair from my bag and headed to the bathroom.

After a quick shower I opened the bathroom door to see Liz standing in her bedroom doorway with two plates in her hand. "I hope you like omelette." She said with a beaming smile.

We sat on her bed to eat and while we didn't say anything to each other while we did, we kept glancing at each other sharing the same kind of looks that we had seen Asuna and Kazuto do a thousand times before. I had felt the kind of love that they have together over the past few months and felt kind of jealous that they had got to experience it first.

As I finished the last bite of my food Liz looked to the ground as her cheeks flushed and she interlocked her fingers on her lap, a clear sign that she wanted to ask something she found embarrassing. "So did you... like last night?" she eventually asked.

"It was honestly the best night of my life. Did you? I didn't hurt you or anything did I?"

Liz went even redder but after a while gave me a reply "A little bit at first, but then it felt... amazing. It's actually really embarrassing that I..." Liz trailed off obviously too scared to continue.

"You did nothing embarrassing at all" I tried to reassure her. "Everything you did and everything that happened was beautiful." That made Liz smile a little.

"You are getting good at saying just the right thing Tyzn." She said now looking at me.

"Well I do try." I said with a smile.

Now looking me straight in the eye but still with a red face Liz asked me "So what was your favourite bit?"

That one stumped me. It was all amazing but what could I specifically choose?  _The way she had taken charge? The way she had moved her hand? The feeling of her legs wrapping around me?_ They were all fantastic and drove me mad.

"Well come on we don't have all day" Liz said teasingly.

"Seeing you naked for the first time" I blurted out. It was a rushed response and while I wasn't sure where it had come from I couldn't deny that it was also the truth. Seeing Liz like that had blown my mind, she looked so beautiful.

"What about you?" I countered. Liz seemed less on edge now, perhaps diving straight into this conversation had set her embarrassment at ease.

"Hmmm, probably the way you was gentle and didn't do anything without asking me first. It might be kinda lame but I was scared shitless and knowing that you weren't being a jerk about it was nice."

"If you we're that scared then we didn't have to do anything." I said as I grabbed her hands. "I'm happy just to be with you."

"There you go again being the gentleman" Liz snorted. "Look dumb dumb, I wanted to do it. I've fantasised about it since our first date, so don't be a prude! I expect you to keep putting out!"

My jaw dropped as I looked at her, any embarrassment Liz must have felt about this topic had obviously dissolved away and now it was my turn to go red. Liz was laughing at my expression and drew her face closer to mine before pulling me into a kiss.

As our kiss finished Liz turned her head to look at the clock on the wall.  _9:43_. We had agreed to meet up with the others in ALO at 12 so we still had plenty of time.

Liz looked back to me and asked "So, how do you wanna kill a couple of hours?" I pondered for a little but just shrugged my shoulders, I was still taken back by Liz's earlier candidness and was finding it hard to focus.

"Well I have an idea" Liz said as she stood up. My gaze followed her as she took a few steps forward. With her back turned to me and peeking over her shoulder she asked me "So you liked seeing me naked huh?" I nodded feeling my heart begin to race.

 

** SMU ** ** T! **

 

Liz gave me a wink as she slowly untied the cord holding her gown in place and allowed it to drop to the floor. My eyes darted up and down her body, from the way her back curved to her perky buttocks and down her beautiful legs before coming all the way back up again.

When my eyes met hers again she was still looking seductively over her shoulder at me, her red cheeks still showing her slight embarrassment.

"Fuck, you really are the most beautiful woman in all the world" I said with barely contained lust. Liz smiled as she turned, slowly revealing her left breast and her freshly shaven loins. My eyes grew wide at the sight and as she came to a stop facing me I couldn't help but gawk.

Liz gave me a wink and asked "so you still like what you see?" A slow nod is all I could achieve, my mind was a whirlwind as I tried to absorb every bit of information I could about the image in front of me.

"Well how about I do something for you that I've always wanted to try?" she asked with a big grin and a sultry tone. Again I nodded, my mind now a full blown hurricane and barely aware of what was said.

Liz chuckled as she knelt down in front of me. She reached up and once again pulled down my underwear, but this time far more gently. My member was already at attention and Liz wasted no time in handling it with the same skill as the night before. I let out a sigh and laid back bringing a slight chuckle from Liz.

For a few minutes Liz stroked me until eventually I felt something different. Sitting up slightly onto my elbows I glanced down to see Liz leant forward. She was sticking out her tongue with a smile and slowly moving its tip up my length. When she reached the top she slowly circled the head before gently moving back down again. It was an incredible feeling and from her facial expression and occasional giggle I knew that Liz was enjoying herself.

She repeated the same move a few times before on one pass rather than moving her tongue back down she took the head of my member into her mouth and slowly pushed down, sucking as she went. I let out a sharp sigh and fell back onto the bed. I could feel Liz's smile grow around me as she continued. The feeling was so intense that I knew I wouldn't last long.

I felt am orgasm building within me and patted Liz on the head. "I'm not going to last... you might want to stop." I struggled to say. Liz shook her head slightly and as I glanced down she had a mischievous look in her eye as she peered up at me and continued to suck on my tip.

That was enough to push me over the edge and I unleashed a torrent into her. I was expecting her to recoil at it but instead she just stayed still allowing me to fill her mouth.

As I felt myself stop twitching Liz slowly pulled back and then without so much as any hesitation swallowed it all down. All I could do was look on in disbelief as she glanced back up at me with the same mischievous look and a big smile on her face. Once again I just fell back onto the bed. "Wow" was all I could muster.

Liz straddled me and pulled herself up until we were face to face and asked me "So did you like that hero?"

Still taken back by the sensation I nodded drawing another snigger for Liz.

"So you've always wanted to do that?" I asked.

"U-huh"

"Was it what you hoped for?"

"A little saltier than I thought it would be, but it wasn't disgusting."

I couldn't help but smile up at her. It had turned out that my beloved Liz was kinkier than I ever thought and I certainly wasn't going to complain.

"I'd do it again" Liz continued. This bought another wave of lust coursing up my body and I could feel the heat from her folds as they hovered just above my waist, making it clear that Liz was also quite eager to continue.

"Well... now I guess it's your turn" I said in a gruff voice.

"Huh? WHAA!!" Liz screamed as I flipped her off of me and took one of her nipples in my mouth. When she realised what was going on she chuckled a little.

Little did she know that I wasn't stopping there though. I traced my tongue down to her navel and kept going. However to my surprise she didn't even flinch, instead just watching over her breasts as I moved between her legs.

As I arrived at my destination I poked out my tongue, licking at the entrance to her womanhood. This brought some light moans from Liz which drove me to add my fingers to the party.

As I parted her lips with one hand the other pushed two fingers deep within her. I felt Liz tense up slightly and her back began to arch, it seemed that was the sign I was doing well.

I moved my face back up slightly and began to lightly lap at the small protruding nub. Being a teenage boy with access to the internet meant that I had become quite knowledgeable about its place and its effects when properly stimulated.

The sensation seemed to be one that Liz really liked as she started to buck her hips forwards to my mouth with each pass.

Seeing an opportunity to really make her squirm I put my lips around the nub and sucked on it, gently at first but getting more and more intense. This seemed to have been just the move that Liz wanted.

"Oh... Tyzn... Tyzn...just like that!"

As she reached her climax she put her legs around my shoulders and pulled me in tight. My fingers which were inside her were squeezed hard and I felt gooey liquid come sliding out of her over them. As I slowed my pace back down Liz let out a big sigh.

 

** END OF SMUT! **

 

"Ohhh god. That... was... awesome" she said between pants and laughing a little at the end. I plopped myself back down on the bed beside her and stroked my hand up her arm. She reached her own hand out and entwined her fingers with mine with a smile on her face. I snuggled up to her and we lay together for a few minutes.

Liz looked over at the clock again and jumped up with a squeal. "Damnit we only have two minutes." I looked at the clock in bewilderment.  _Had it really been that long?_  "errr.. Quick let's go wash out our mouths and log in!" she shouted as she ran to the bathroom and I quickly followed suit.

I couldn't help but stare at the naked form of Liz as we both used some mouthwash. However Liz either didn't notice or had become used to my gaze upon her body. Liz finished before me and ran back towards the bedroom.

As I re-entered the room I saw Liz lying on the bed with her gown back on, but I could tell by the amount of exposed leg and shoulder on show that she was still naked underneath. She already had her AmuSphere on but was looking at me through it so I knew she hadn't logged in yet. Realising that I too was naked I decided to put some boxers and a t shirt on.

I laid on the bed next to Liz and gave her a quick kiss before placing my own AmuSphere on. Liz shifted her body close to mine until she was practically on top of me and looked me in the eye. "Ready?" She asked. I nodded and in unison we said the words "Link Start!"


	29. Goals (Lemon)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter with any smut for a while I promise :D
> 
> Again there is some light stuff that isn’t highlighted but isn’t overly descriptive.

 

Chapter 28- November 8th 2025 “Goals”

SAO Survivors School Hostel, Liz’s Room

 

Our party had spent nearly six hours in ALO. We were not doing anything too exciting, just some regular levelling and farming of mobs. However, even though this kind of gameplay would seem monotonous to some, our joy came from playing together.

Today we had a full party so went on a tear fighting some of the stronger monsters in the Ancient Forest territory. Kirito, Klein and I played forward, blocking attacks to allow Silica, Leafa and Liz to switch in and deal damage. Meanwhile Asuna provided support with healing and buff spells.

Another advantage of having a full party is that most PK groups would leave us be, it was dangerous to take on a full party even if you had your own and Kirito had something of a reputation for bad-assery which also contributed.

After defeating several high level mobs and mid-level bosses we were done farming for the day and headed back to Yggdrasil City to say our goodbyes before logging out.

As my eyes opened and adjusted to the real world again I felt Liz sit up and remove her AmuSphere. I did the same as Liz stretched her arms out wide with a yawn. As she lowered her arms back to her sides again her loose gown dropped revealing her boobs. My eyes immediately snapped to them on reflex, as if drawn by some kind of magnetism.

On instinct Liz squeaked and covered her chest, going a little pink under her freckles at the same time.

I let out a little chuckle at her cute response. “I was enjoying that view” I joked.

“You perv” Liz replied giving me a nudge with her elbow “didn’t you see enough of them already?” Her face was flushed a light pink colour but her slight smile gave away her lessening embarrassment at this kind of situation.

“I could look at you naked for all eternity and still not have enough of seeing it.” I retorted.

The smile on Liz’s face grew a little bigger before developing into her mischievous grin. “Oh really?” Liz smiled before grabbing my face in her hands and thrusting her cleavage to my face. “How about you take a closer look then!” She laughed.

I burst out laughing but then my stomach growled loudly. Muffled by Liz’s breasts I asked her “Soooo… wanna get something to eat?”

Liz let go of my head allowing me the chance to breathe again and replied. “Yeah I’m starving, I’ll cook us up something.” She pulled her gown back on and went to stand up off the bed but I grabbed her by the arm to prevent her from standing.

“I have another idea, let’s have a shower and I’ll take you somewhere nice.” I said before leaning in to give Liz a quick peck on the lips. Liz rested her forehead against mine as we both gazed into each other’s eyes. My heart was melting at seeing the sparkle in her eyes and the slight smile she wore.

Liz moved a hand up to stroke my face. “That sounds wonderful, I’m lucky to have you Tyzn” She said before pulling me into a more passionate kiss. The kiss abruptly finished and Liz kept talking. “The trouble is that we need to sneak back out again though.”

“Shit I had forgot about that.” I pondered for a few seconds “Does Silica know I’m staying with you?” I asked with a plan forming.

“Don’t be mad but… I told her earlier when we were farming. She guessed because we both logged in at the same time. Don’t worry, I told her if she says anything that I’ll…”

“No its fine” I interrupted “I was just thinking she could be our lookout so we can sneak out.” I said laying out my plan.

Liz smiled wide. “Not just a pretty face are ya?” she giggled to me. Reaching for her phone Liz typed out a message to Silica as I waited patiently.

Once Silica had confirmed she would help, Liz pulled me to my feet and dragged me into the bathroom. She turned the shower on and took her gown off, once again revealing her perfect body before me. I noticed that Liz had no hesitation anymore, not even her cheeks flushed as she spoke, however I still couldn’t stop drifting into my own world as I admired her.

“Earth to Tyzn, you can stop gawking now. Get undressed, the quicker we have a shower the quicker we can go eat!” I snapped back to reality.

“You want to shower together?” I said in a surprised tone.

“Well yeah it’ll be quicker dummy. And besides we have done far naughtier things.” She said with a wink. I quickly got undressed and followed her into the shower as she began to lather her body with soapy shower gel.

**** SMUT! ** **

I felt a growing in my loins as I watched Liz and tried hard to stop it and focus on the task at hand. This would be difficult however, my teenage brain wouldn’t let me stop staring at the woman before me. In the attempt to collect myself I closed my eyes and began to wash myself but my current predicament didn’t go unnoticed by Liz.

“Put away your sword hero, you can use it later” Liz sniggered at me making me go bright red.

“Sorry but I can’t help it! You know if you weren’t so damn alluring…”

“Oh shush” Liz interrupted. “You’re not the only one that’s horny you know.” I still had my eyes sealed shut but I felt Liz move close to me and give me a slight kiss on the chest. “But I’m starving, let’s go get something to eat then when we get back…” She grabbed my member making me gasp as my eyes shot open. “We’ll find a use for that.” Liz had that mischievous look again as she passed me to get out of the shower.

“That really doesn’t help you know!” I called out and I heard Liz laugh in response.

**** END OF SMUT! ** **

After our shower I quickly got dressed and waited by the door. I made a reservation at an Italian restaurant which was a few blocks away, luckily the place seemed quiet as I was able to make a reservation for just half an hours’ time.

As I waited I wondered why Liz was taking so long but when I saw her I knew why. Liz was wearing the same summer dress she had on our first date and had even changed her usual hair clips for a larger one that held her long bangs back, revealing her freckled cheeks.

“How do I look?” She asked me as she opened the bedroom door. I took a few steps forward before lifting Liz up. She let out a gasp which I muffled with a kiss.

“You look amazing” I said as Liz pulled me in for another kiss.

Following this Liz pulled her phone out of her bag and sent Silica another text. Once she had confirmed that the coast was clear Liz peered out into the corridor and briskly pulled me by the arm towards the dorms exit. As we made it to the entrance to the dorms Silica gave us both a big grin.

“Thanks Silica!” we both whispered as we passed.

“Behave you two!” she whispered back with a cheeky smile.

 

* * *

 

When we arrived at the restaurant my assumption was proved correct, aside from us there was a family and what appeared to be a few businessmen at the restaurant. “Thank god it’s quiet, I’m so hungry” Liz whispered to me as she thumbed through the menu.

It wasn’t long before our orders were taken, a lasagne for me and a bolognaise for Liz. As we waited for our food we spoke about property in ALO, a usually boring subject in the real world but somehow an interesting one for the virtual.

“Well here’s the thing” Liz said between bites of a piece of bread “if you want a shop-front in ALO they aren’t too expensive, neither is a workshop. But if you want both, even combined into one building they are stupid expensive.”

“I guess that makes sense though, the devs don’t want every player having shops, that kinda thing could ruin the in game economy.” I interjected.

Liz let out a sigh. “I know, I just wish I could afford this place that I saw the other day, it was perfect for a smith shop, it even comes with all the equipment I’d need and has an upstairs living area.”

“Wait, so it’s a smith shop and a player home?”

“Yup” Liz was smiling just thinking about the property.

“Well that’s just adding more expense, why would you need both anyway?” I asked confusedly.

Liz gave me a stern stare. I must had said something wrong but at the time I had no idea what. However it was then that our food arrived forcing me to save the question for later. It took both of our willpowers to not just tuck straight in the moment our plates hit the table, luckily we both kept it dignified.

While we ate I decided to ask Liz what that look had been about. “So Liz, what was wrong earlier. You know about the player home, smith shop combo thing. I just thought it seems a little odd.”

Liz swallowed her mouthful of food and answered. “It’s just that Asuna and Kirito have their apartment for when they want alone time but we don’t. I dunno, I guess it would be nice to have somewhere we shared.” She seemed a little upset again but now knowing her reasoning I couldn’t deny that I too would love to have something like that.

“Yeah it would… Well how much is this place you saw anyway?” I asked as I took a sip of my drink. This proved to be a mistake.

“700,000” Liz answered. I almost spat the mouthful of soda everywhere.

“700k?! Damn.” I spluttered.

“Yeah and that’s why I’ll never have a place like that.” Liz looked really sad and it made my heart sink. I reached my hand across the table and she placed hers in mine.

I gave her hand a tight squeeze before letting my own excitement and willingness to keep Liz happy out. “Screw that, we’re getting that place.” Liz snapped her eyes up to me. “I don’t care how long it takes, or how many bosses I have to beat, I’m gonna grind the shit outta ALO to get it.”

Tears formed in Liz’s eyes but she smiled at me. “Don’t be silly dofus, you would be grinding for months to get that kind of cash.”

“It’s worth it to see you smile, let’s call it a belated birthday present.”

Liz let out a little laugh “Well you are already months late for that.”

“I better get to work then eh?” I said with a chuckle.

“Well it’s not fair to have you do all that work, we’ll work together to get it. Our first home together!” Liz once again beamed with delight.

We scoffed down the remaining food and ordered some ice cream to share. As we tucked into dessert I found myself thinking about some thoughts I had on ALO regarding Liz. It was something that I had been thinking about for a while but was always too worried about how pathetic it sounded. But right now I felt safer talking to Liz about my silly ideas than I ever had before.

“There has been something bothering me about ALO too.” I said as confidently as I could.

“What’s that?” Liz said through a mouthful of ice cream.

“Well I don’t want you to freak out at me for saying this” I said while looking at her worriedly.

“No its fine, if anything is ever bothering you just let me know.” she said with a genuine smile.

“Well… we love each other in game and IRL right?”

“Of course”

I took a deep gulp of air to ready myself. “It may seem a little bit quick but… I thought… that… maybe… we should get married in game… If you want to.” I just about managed to get the words out, apparently I was still very worried about the reaction I would get.

Liz’s eyes went wide and she let out a gasp. “Of course I would dummy!” She beamed at me.

Once again my hand darted across the table and grabbed Liz’s. “You would make me the happiest little fairy in all of Alfheim!” I said with a snigger.

Liz smiled too but tried to act stern. “I’m being serious here dumbass!”

“I’m sorry. But what I said wasn’t lying, it would make me so happy.”

“Well good” Liz said her smile broadening.

“So when do you want to get married then?” I enquired. It felt really weird asking such a question in such a nonchalant way.

Liz sat for a few seconds thinking before snapping her fingers as an idea came to her. “How about we save up together for the shop and have our ceremony there.”

“That’s a great idea!” It felt like when I had asked Liz out all over again. The adrenaline coursing through my veins and the lightness in my chest. It seemed silly given that it was hardly like getting married for real.

We finished up at the restaurant and despite Liz’s protests I paid for the meal in full. It was a short walk back to the dorms but we were both slowed by our overfilled bellies.

When we finally arrived back Silica again checked the way was clear and helped to sneak me back in. As we finally entered back into Liz’s room she threw herself down on the bed with a sigh. I felt like going into a food coma so quickly followed suit.

Liz shuffled her way to lay beside me and cuddled up close as I placed my arm under her head. Liz let out another long sigh.

“Hey Tyzn, I love you.”

“I love you too Liz” I replied.

I closed my eyes with every intention to go to sleep. Just as I was drifting off I felt something which snapped me back awake.

 

**** SMUT! ** **

****** **

I felt a release as my trousers were unbuttoned and Liz’s hand plunged into my underwear. I shot Liz a look and was greeted by her mischievous smile.

“I promised I would find a use for that didn’t I?” She said with a giggle.

“That was before I ate such a big meal. I can barely move.” I said back to her with a sigh.

“Well since you put in all the work last night I guess it’s only fair that I do tonight.” Liz retorted as she began to pull my clothes off. Now that I was again naked on her bed Liz went back to massaging my penis.

It didn’t take long before I was once again hard. Once she was satisfied Liz pulled her own clothes off. I felt bad for not doing anything thus far so as she removed her underwear I moved my hand down towards her womanhood. To my surprise Liz slapped my hand away.

“Nuh-uh, my turn remember?” she said with a cheeky grin. She reached over me and grabbed another condom from the drawer and wasted no time in putting on me before straddling my hips and lining me up.

“You ready for round two hero?” Liz said with a wink.

“Hell yeah” I replied now once again fully awake.

Liz slowly lowered herself back onto my member and let out a moan as she did. She closed her eyes and began to rock her hips back and forth, moaning with each motion. Between her gasps for air she began to speak.

“Tyzn… I love… you… ah… so much”

“I love you too Liz” I replied in a gruff voice which seemed to increase Liz’s lust further.

Her hips began to rock back and forth faster and faster and sweat began to bead all over her body. Eventually her pace made her breasts begin to bounce wildly. I reached my hands up and gently kneaded them, knowing that this seemed to be something that Liz liked.

“Ah... Harder… Ahh.. do that harder!...” Liz began to scream. I followed her orders and squeezed her breasts tightly which pushed Liz over the edge. She let out a guttural cry of ecstasy as her body convulsed on top of me. She flopped down with tiredness but I could feel that I too was close and decided to really make Liz squirm.

With Liz still in her post orgasm sensitivity I began to thrust violently up into her causing her to moan loudly.

“AHHH! AHHH! NO! AHH!” Liz went on and I could feel her vagina walls vibrating on my penis with every thrust. This was enough to make my own orgasm burst forth as electricity seemed to pulse up my body.

As we lay there breathing heavily Liz whispered in my ear “You asshole… right after I… just came.”

“You liked it didn’t you?” I asked worried that perhaps that had hurt her.

“That’s not the point… I thought my mind was… gonna explode out my ears.” I chuckled at her description. “We’re both gonna need another shower now.” Liz said as she raised her hips off of mine and deftly removed the condom with one hand. “That can wait till morning now though. Cause I am exhausted.”

“Yeah me too” I said whilst she placed the condom into the bin. “We should really start doing this  _before_ we shower.”

 

**** END O ** ** **** F SMUT! ** **

****** **

Liz positioned herself back at my side, snuggled into our now familiar position and pulled herself up for a kiss. After our kiss we locked eyes and I said “Goodnight beautiful, love you.”

Liz smiled broadly and kissed me once more before moving her head back to my chest. “Goodnight hero… and I love you too.”


	30. Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised no more smut, but there is some non-descript nudity again... Guess I can't help myself. :P

Chapter 29- November 9th 2025 "Morning"

Liz's Room

 

I awoke to see Liz already looking at me as she leant up on her elbow, once again naked from the night before but this time making no attempt to cover up. I rubbed my eyes and as they focused I couldn't help but smile at her beautiful face looking back at me.

"Hey there hero" Liz said before leaning in for a kiss.

As she drew back I let out a sigh "I could get used to waking up to you Liz". I rolled onto my side so that we were facing each other and pulled her close to me.

"I know, me too. Can we just stay like this for the morning?" She asked and gave me a peck on the cheek.

"I'd love that more than anything" I replied with another sigh.

"Good answer, I wasn't going to let you go anyway. I feel so much safer and happier with you around." Liz said back with a cute smile as she held me tight. The barriers put up by the tough girl persona were definitely down right now and this was a side of Liz that I loved to see.

I let out a little chuckle and gave her a kiss. We laid in the bed in silence for hours, although they felt like minutes. Our only movements were our breathing and the occasional shifting of positions as our bodies began to ache.

I thought to myself about how different Liz was when we were alone. It was almost like she would let her guard down around me and let me see her for who she really was. She still had her confidence and joking attitude but she also let me see her insecurities too. It really was a privilege.

 

* * *

 

Before long it was approaching mid-day. "Hey Liz?" I asked quietly when I saw the time and felt a pang of hunger.

"Mhhmm" Liz replied sleepily.

"I'm pretty hungry, don't suppose you have anything to eat?"

Liz let out a big yawn before continuing. "Yeah Ihave some noodles" She said as she shifted to get up. Before she could I pulled her back down beside me and gave her a quick kiss.

"it's ok honey, I can manage to cook noodles." I said with a wink.

"Ok just don't burn the place down" Liz giggled. "Can you make me some too?"

"I'll manage" I said giving Liz another quick kiss before standing up out of bed.

When I returned Liz was sitting up in the bed and smiled as I rounded the doorway and handed her a bowl.

We quickly tucked into the food and as we finished Liz took the bowls into the kitchen. I couldn't help but stare at her as she went.

Now it seemed she was completely used to my gaze on her naked body. It could've just been my imagination, but I could swear that she was deliberately moving her hips more knowing that I was watching her.

While Liz was cleaning the bowls in the sink I took the opportunity to have a shower, making sure to admire her body again as I came out of her bedroom.

"Alright pervert, get a move on!" I heard her say with her back turned.

"I don't know what you mean" I hurriedly said in an attempt to gain back some dignity but all I succeeded in doing was making Liz giggle a little.

As I re-entered the bedroom Liz was sitting on the bed with her phone in her hands and back in her gown. I sat next to her and Liz leaned against my damp arm. "You better get dressed honey" She said quietly "Don't want you getting a cold while we're in ALO."

"So you wanna dive then?"

"Yeah, I'm just gonna have a shower first." Liz said jumping up. As she walked past me she ran her hand down my arm gently. "We have some work to do afterall."

After a quick shower Liz returned and got dressed into some casual clothes whilst I set up the AmuSpheres. We both laid down on the bed beside one another once more, although for once fully clothed, and logged into ALO.

We decided to get some farming done so went about the Alne Plateau, finding monsters that dropped more Yrd or high value items. Unfortunately I only had a couple of hours before I would have to leave for work that evening, but we tried hard to enjoy the time we had.

At 3pm we both logged out but before I could remove my AmuSphere Liz had rolled on top of me, her own AmuSphere still placed over her eyes. Liz let out a long sigh before saying "I'm gonna miss having you with me Tyzn, it was fun."

"Yeah me too" I lifted her chin with my finger and gave her a gentle kiss, although the equipment was obviously not designed with that action in mind making it rather awkward. "I already miss you and I haven't even left yet. I love you." I replied.

Another gentle kiss followed "I love you too."

 

* * *

 

I had been back in my room for hours now and despite being more than tired enough to sleep, I just couldn't seem to do it. All my time at work was spent with thoughts of Liz in my mind and longing to be back with her.

Now every time I felt my conscious fade I was snapped back by a feeling that something was missing. It was clear to me what it was but there was little I could do about it.

As I laid there I decided to look through the latest news on the ALO forums on my phone _._  Just then my phone began to ring. It was Liz trying to call me, but this late?

"Hey Liz what's wrong?" I said concerned.

"Nothing is wrong I just can't sleep is all. Sorry if I woke you."

"Don't worry I can't sleep either, sorry if this sounds creepy or something but all I can think about is you and when I do I just feel alone here."

"Oh thank god you said that" Liz said with a laugh. "I thought I was being weird for feeling like that."

I laughed back to Liz. "Well, we could both just be weirdos."

"That's probably likely" Liz laughed again more and I could feel my sadness subsiding. "At least it's only a few hours to school, then I get to see you again."

"Yeah, although we'll probably get a boat load of homework to do too and my boss already wants me to do extra hours next week."

"Don't be a downer! We can always do some of the homework together. And don't worry, I'll make sure we have some time to be naughty too." Liz finished her sentence in a sultry tone.

"Well now, that does sound good" I replied with a laugh.

"Just don't get too excited hero, you have to do your homework before you get your reward."

"Yes mam!" Both of us started to laugh once more.

"I had better go get some sleep, I love you Tyzn."

"I love you too Liz."

With that Liz hung up. And now that I was feeling a little better I managed to finally get to sleep.


	31. The Hunt for Yrd

Chapter 30- November 22nd 2025 "The Hunt for Yrd"

Yggdrasil City, ALO

 

Liz and I had been grinding in ALO for hours already, making our way from one monster spawn to another, however the 700,000 Yrd we would need seemed to be insurmountable. In four hours we had only made around 20,000 Yrd between us, bringing our combined total to just over 250,000.

Usually, major events would pay out Yrd in the hundreds of thousands to the party which successfully completed them, but there hadn't been one of those since July. The weekly events could pay out up to 50,000 Yrd but since they too were only once per week it didn't help expedite the process much.

As we arrived back in Yggdrasil City to sell as many item drops as we could, Liz seemed dejected. "This is gonna take forever. We should just give up." Liz said in a depressed tone coming to a halt. I stopped in my stride and grabbed Liz by the arm making her look up at me.

"I'm not giving up Liz, I promised I would get you that shop and I will." I said with a smile in an attempt to cheer her up. It was then that an idea popped into my head. "Oh damn it, why didn't I think of that before?" I let out loudly.

"Think of what?" Liz asked confused.

"Yui, she would know all the best places to farm for Yrd." Liz seemed sceptical but I was invested now. I checked my friends list and was pleased to see that Kirito and Asuna had logged on and were currently at their apartment. I hurriedly sent a message to Asuna.

**_Hey Asuna,_ **

**_Any chance me and Liz can pop over? We need Yui's help with something._ **

We didn't have to wait long for a reply.

**_Of course Tyzn,_ **

**_you guys are welcome over whenever you want. And Yui would love to help you guys out!_ **

As Liz and I arrived at the apartment Kirito opened the door and invited us in.

"Hey guys, what's the problem?" he asked as we entered. Yui was in her child form and sat with Asuna on the sofa and both waved as we made our way inside.

"We're trying to get the Yrd together to buy Liz a blacksmith shop, but the price is crazy high." I explained.

"How expensive is it?" Asuna asked from the sofa.

"We need 700,000." Liz said glumly making Kirito and Asuna let out an audible gasp.

"I thought that maybe Yui could help us out" I went on "as a navigation pixie you have access to all the map data on the server right?"

"Uh-huh" Yui replied. "I can see all the wide and local area maps, along with monster spawn locations and timings."

"Could you work out the fastest way for us to grind for Yrd from monster spawns?" I asked.

The small girl closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again and talking "Hmm, I could but it would still take a long time to get that much money. By my estimations at least 70 hours of hunting monsters non-stop." Yui said in a sad voice.

"That's ok Yui, thanks anyway" Liz said in reply still upset.

"What about that monster that's meant to drop huge amounts of Yrd? The one that the devs teased last update." Kirito piped up. I had thought that was meant as a joke that was turned into a meme. Very few players had spotted it and most just assumed those players were lying about seeing it on the forums.

"Its location and data isn't available to me, it must be stored on an outside system." Yui explained. "But if you give me a second I can check the ALO forums and see if anyone has posted a recent location."

Yui closed her eyes for a few seconds. I felt a wave of hope rush through me, perhaps it was real and this could be just what we need.

When Yui opened her eyes she had a big smile "Some players spotted it in the southern part of Pooka territory two hours ago so if we hurry we might find it." Her smile diminished as she went on. "A party of seven players tried to take it out but were defeated."

"Damn" Kirito said under his breath.

Liz was staring at the floor, obviously upset about the situation, I had to do something.

"Thanks so much Yui, I'm gonna go find this monster." I said and everyone looked towards me.

"But Tyzn, it just took out a full party. That means it must be of mid-boss strength or higher, its suicide to fight that alone." Asuna said. I shrugged my shoulders and as I was about to speak Asuna continued "That's why me and Kirito are coming with you guys."

I looked towards Kirito who gave me a thumbs up "Three best players in the assault team remember" he said with a smile.

Liz had stopped staring at the floor and now had a sparkle in her eye. "You guys would really do that for me?" she said. I could tell how she was trying to hold back tears which was usually invisible to the untrained eye, but I now knew Liz better than I knew myself and could see it in the way her eyelids fluttered.

"Of course we would Liz, you're our friends and it obviously means a lot to you." Asuna reassured her.

There was a flash of light as Yui turned back into her pixie form and landed on Asuna's shoulder. "With the four of you this monster doesn't stand a chance, let's go kick his butt!" She said whilst punching the air. We couldn't help but all laugh at her eagerness.

 

* * *

 

We had made our way to the Pooka territory to the far North West of the world and was scanning the ground for the creature from the air. While we had no idea what it looked like Yui had a theory that by using her own map data on monster spawns she could find one that was out of place.

The topography of the Pooka territories made this easier. The whole area was open rolling fields dotted with small patches of woodland. The fields themselves were filled with long grass and flowers, which made spotting large monsters much easier.

We flew around for quite a while before Kirito spotted a monster that he hadn't seen before and dove down towards it. He stopped around ten meters from the ground and the rest of us formed up at his side.

"What do you think Yui?" He asked as the little pixie poked her head out of his pocket.

"I don't see any monster spawn location around here, that must be it daddy!" She said in an excited voice.

From here we could see that the monster was actually a stereotypical cow with black and white spots and it seemed to have a coin strapped around its neck. It wasn't out of place in a fantasy setting per-se, but it still looked rather strange.

"Seriously?" Kirito said as we all looked on in bewilderment. "This thing has taken out entire parties?"

"I think so daddy, you should be careful. Whoaaa!" Kirito shot forward drawing his sword and slashed the cow right across its face.

A health bar appeared above it and to Kirito's surprise it had as much HP as some of the high level bosses, his attack had barely even registered. The bovine let out a loud "MOOOO!" and head-butted Kirito sending him tumbling backwards. Yui came flying out of his pocket, recovering just before us into a hover.

By the time Kirito rose to his feet again the cow was in a full charge, in response Kirito began to run away as fast as he could.

For the rest of us still in the air it was a hilarious sight. All of us burst out laughing as Kirito ran in circles to try to shake off his pursuer.

"Guys? A little help!" he called breathlessly but none of us were really composed to offer much assistance.

"Daddy" Yui called between giggles "try flying".

"Oh... yeah" Kirito said as he lifted into the air. It took him a few seconds to regain his breath as the angered bovine stared up at him.

Suddenly huge eagle like wings appeared from its back and with a single flap it tore into the air ramming Kirito again.

In just two hits Kiritos health was in the yellow, and whilst I was still laughing to myself I flew in to block the flying cow with a sword skill. Asuna managed to compose herself and healed Kirito back up but Liz was still rolling around in the air in laughter.

My interception caused the cow to switch targets, as now it began to repeatedly charge at me. As a primarily defensive fighter this worked for me. "I'll keep its aggro, you guy focus on damage." I called out between deflections. As it charged again I managed to push back and lock my blade between its horns as Kirito and Liz dove from above to deal their damage.

However it quickly broke free with tremendous strength, I could see now why so many parties had struggled against this monster.

As the monsters health hit yellow its strength drastically increased, but luckily its attack patterns remained unchanged and predictable. Whilst I could no longer simply deflect its blows I could maintain its aggro by hitting it in the head as I dodged its charges.

The fight lasted for nearly half an hour and I could feel my avatars strength sapping from the repeated aerial acrobatics. Asuna had run out of mana a while ago and now assisted Liz and Kirito with dealing damage, making my dodges all the more critical to land without the healing assistance.

Eventually though we wore it down to only a slither of health and its patterns finally changed. After one last lunge at me the creature flew down to the ground and as its wings folded away it began to run at a fast pace. We all accelerated a fast as we could, but even at full flight speed the monster was pulling away as it tore over the vast flower fields.

"Damn, if I had some mana I could slow it down!" Asuna yelled over the howling of the wind.

"I've got it!" I called back as I recited one of the few spells that I knew, <<Fenrir Storm>>. My glaive lit up with lightning and I unleashed the spell immediately, a bolt of lightning struck the cash cow finally finishing it off in a puff of sparks.

None of us really had the energy left to celebrate as we stopped in the air to catch our breath.

The victory screen appeared and we all gasped at the display. While it gave no drops and very little EXP, the Yrd amount for defeating a single monster was incredible. We each received 150,000 Yrd for dispatching the monster, normally this kind of amount split up would be for finishing a full world quest. What's more in one fight Liz and I had more than doubled our combined savings.

However it quickly dawned on me that this still only brought us to around 550,000 Yrd, 150,000 short of what we needed to afford the shop. I looked back towards Liz and could see on her face that she too had come to the same realisation.

"Oh right!" Asuna shouted nearby "Look at all that money!"

Our party all gathered back on the ground and Kirito picked up that something was wrong. "What's up Liz?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, it's just that we still need another 150,000. Thanks for your help though we're much closer now" Liz replied with a strained smile, whilst trying to hide her upset state. I moved beside her and placed an arm around her shoulder, I could feel how she was trying to hold back tears.

Asuna, who had known Liz the longest of all of us, obviously picked up on this and gave Kirito a nudge and a nod. He looked a little surprised at first and gave a nod back as Asuna opened her menu. Suddenly a trade request popped up in front of me and Liz. The trade asked for nothing but offered 150,000 Yrd.

"Wait what? We can't take that from you guys, that's a lot of money." Liz said in a strained voice.

"Don't be silly Liz, we want to help you out" Asuna replied.

"Uh-huh, and besides we know you will upgrade all our gear for us." Kirito continued, getting a dig in the ribs from Asuna for the comment.

Liz's eyes welled up as she began to cry before charging forwards and grabbing our friends in a tight hug. "You guys are the best!" she yelled as she hugged them. This seemed to surprise them, it was rare for Liz to show such emotion but of course I knew this was what she was like when she let her barriers down.

Kirito and Asuna smiled at me over Liz's head as she sobbed happily, and I beamed a big smile back at them.

"You had better get a move on if you want to buy it tonight though, there's maintenance on the server in an hour." Kirito informed us.

"Oh shit" Liz said as she pulled back from the couple and grabbed my hand. "Thank you guys so much!" she said as she lifted into the air and dragged me along. I gave a wave to our friends as we shot into the sky.

 

* * *

 

We finally made it back to Yggdrasil City with just twenty minutes to spare before we would be forcibly logged out. We landed right at the doorstep of the shop which Liz wanted to buy and she approached wide eyed. The whole building was surrounded by a shimmering force field and as we drew nearer I noticed a "For Sale" sign on the door which Liz hastily pressed. A fresh window opened with the price of 700,000 Yrd and as Liz pressed confirm a handprint scanner took its place.

"Quick give me your hand!" Liz yelled at me. I was busy in the menu trying to hurriedly transfer Liz my portion of the funds.

I looked at her bemused. "I thought this was gonna be your shop?" If we were both to confirm then the game would flag it as joint owned, although it would also split the cost saving the need for a Yrd transfer.

"No, this is ' _our'_ home dumb dumb, now give me your hand!"

I reached out a hand and Liz quickly grabbed it with her own, placing them onto the symbol. The force field protecting the shop began to shimmer and dissolve from the bottom to the top and a small key materialised before us and dropped into Liz's open hand. I couldn't take my eyes from Liz's face. She had a huge smile as she watched in glee and a small flow of tears crept from her eyes.

As soon as the last of the house lost its barrier Liz pulled my hand again and hurried to place the key in the door. As it swung open Liz let out a loud gasp. Inside there was a long counter, behind which was a full blacksmith workshop and a set of stairs leading to the second floor. Off to the side of the room was a small seating area with a long table with two benches on both sides and single bookshelf.

Liz began to laugh and charged inside pulling me with her. She ran to the counter and observed all of the laid out tools and various instruments for her craft before charging around it to inspect them closely.

The workshop was quite extensive with everything from a furnace to anvils of various types and even an assortment of tools for every type of weapon.

All the while she held my hand tightly dragging me around. Once she was satisfied with viewing the workshop she pulled me towards the stairs. "Come on! Let's check out up here!" she screeched between giggles.

As we rounded the top of the steps Liz let out another gasp. The upper level was pretty basic, consisting of nothing but storage chests and cupboards, a small stove and a large double bed. Liz pulled me down into a deep kiss and I could feel the wetness of her tears on her cheeks as she did.

As she pulled back Liz spoke in a high, happy voice "Thank you Tyzn, thanks for helping me and thanks for being mine!"

"There's no need to thank me, it might not be real but this is our first home together now. Besides I don't think I've ever seen you so happy, it's kinda cute." I replied with a beaming smile.

"Hmm well don't go telling anyone" Liz said while pulling me towards the bed. She pushed me down onto it to lay atop me on the mattress and kissed me passionately before rolling off to my side.

Liz leant up on her arm and gave me a stern look, grabbing my attention. "As soon as you finish work tomorrow log in and give me a hand. We have a lot to do before our wedding."

"So you do still want to get married then?"

"Of course dummy, I want to make sure everyone knows you are mine!" she said slapping my chest plate. "We need to get the shop ready first and have our grand opening tomorrow, we should announce that we are getting married then."

"Ok that sounds good." I answered. My head was buzzing at the idea of marrying Liz, even if it was only in a game, it felt real enough to me that it was filling me with joy.

"Hmm, I still have to buy a dress though, and you're gonna need a suit made. Then there is all the food we need to get." Liz said thinking aloud. This caught me off guard.

"Huh? I didn't know you wanted to go whole hog on a ceremony." I said in a surprised tone.

"I want to have a special wedding, don't you want one?" Liz asked sounding a bit upset.

"I hadn't given it any thought to be honest." I answered. "I suppose I don't mind really either way but it will obviously make you happy so I'm all for it."

"There you go again, saying just the right thing." Liz said with slight tears appearing in her eyes again. "Don't worry though it's not going to be a big thing, just our friends."

A five minute warning rang out to all players on the server about its impending closure and Liz pulled me in tight. "I love you Tyzn, I'm yours forever!" Liz said with fresh tears in her eyes.

"And I am yours" I replied giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Do you want to get our armour off and just cuddle for a little while?"

Liz nodded at me and brought up her menu. We both removed our armour layer and now in our casual clothing we snuggled up close.

The one minute warning chimed yet neither of us wanted to move. As the time ticked down Liz finally spoke. "When we're logged out I'll give you a call for a goodnight chat, ok?" I gave her a nod in response and we kissed as the final ticks of the server clicked down and we were forcibly logged out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late upload, I've had a hectic week and getting anytime to proofread these chapters before uploading has been a nightmare.
> 
> The hectic nature of life right now is also meaning that I can't find the time to write new chapters, so I may have to change the upload schedule to once a week soon but I'll keep you all updated as best I can J
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I honestly loved the idea of writing one with a silly premise so I hope it came out ok.
> 
> When I was originally thinking of how Liz got the shop I found myself wondering where the money came from, then I thought she'd need some kind of 'Cash Cow' :P
> 
> Anyway as always if you enjoyed the chapter or see anything that could do with improvement please let me know.


	32. Celebrations

Chapter 31- November 23rd 2025 “Celebrations”

Yggdrasil City, ALO

 

It had been a long morning working at my part time job at the mall. With the world seed in the open many new games were cropping up for the virtual space and that meant a massive increase of sales for the AmuSphere.

When I had originally started at the store way back at the start of May, it had specialised in PC equipment and only sold a token number of AmuSpheres packaged with ALO.

Now however the shop had almost entirely become a one stop place for all your VRMMO needs. I guessed it was just indicative of the times, VRMMOs had become the latest hotness once again even after the SAO and original ALO incidents. I certainly wasn’t complaining as it allowed me to talk to customers about my true passion.

As I finally got home I realised that Liz had sent me a text message, probably on my ride home from work. It read:

****_Don’t forget I need your help ASAP! Get your butt online the moment you are in! Everyone else is turning up at five for the grand opening and we still need to get the place up and running xxxx_ ** **

The time on my phone was 1:23 so I had time to have a quick sandwich and a cold drink before logging on, thinking that surely Liz wouldn’t notice.

As I materialised into ALO I found myself still lying on the bed in the upstairs of the shop, well, our home I guess. It was still so strange to think of it like that, but I loved the idea all the same. I could hear the clanging of a hammer on metal from downstairs, the tell-tale sign that Liz was hard at work.

The sounds took me back to watching Liz work in SAO. It always seemed to bring a smile to her face, indicative of her passion for crafting. That smile was part of what made me fall for her in the first place so I was thankful that she had the opportunity to do it again.

I made my way down the steps as quietly as I could so as not to disturb her but was rumbled when Liz glanced up and spotted me as I came down from the last step. Without hesitation she charged towards me and leapt into my arms. I spun in a circle as I held tightly to her and Liz was giggling as we went.

“Hey Tyzn, welcome home from work” She beamed as we came to a stop.

“Anytime I’m with you I feel at home” I said with a cheesy grin.

Liz laughed again and gave me a poke in the chest. “God that’s terrible! Now come on I need you to fill the weapon racks.” She pointed to the walls where several racks were positioned, Liz had already labelled up each one with the type of weapon it would display and several crates were laid out before each of them. Given Liz’s usual cavalier attitude I was surprised at her organisation but then remembered back to a similar scene one time in her Lindarth store.

Looking back now that particular memory was a fond one, although at the time I remembered feeling dejected that she had feelings for Kirito. Now it just proved how lucky I really was.

Liz went back to crafting more weapons from the huge amount of material we had amassed since New ALO had released back onto the market and I got to work filling the racks.

In total Liz had crafted nearly 50 weapons of varying types in under the three hours that the game had been back up, yet as I looked at her I could tell she was loving every second spent crafting up something new.

Every now and then I’d hear a moan of disapproval, a sigh of “this’ll do I guess” or a louder call of “much better”. Yet despite her perfectionism Liz was in her own world and the smile remained glued to her face.

Once I was done filling the racks I tip toed behind Liz as she gave a last hammer blow to a piece of material and it began to form into a new two-handed hammer. I grabbed Liz’s hips and pulled her close. Liz let out an audible gasp followed by a chuckle as she placed her hands over mine on her stomach.

“You wouldn’t believe the amount of times I fantasised about you doing that back in SAO.” Liz said in a sultry tone.

“Oh really? I thought you only had eyes for Kirito back then.”

Liz gave my hand a sharp pinch, the surprise of the assault making me yelp. “At one time yeah, but then you came along being all sweet and caring and oh so shy.”

“And here I thought I did a good job keeping my insecurity hidden.”

“Pfft, god no!” Liz chuckled. “It was clear that you liked me but was too afraid to say anything, but you were so cute too. That’s why I wanted you back every week, to make sure I could see you again dummy.”

“You could have told me!” I said loudly.

“Hey, you weren’t the only one scared to say anything you know!” Liz replied. “Besides it was cute watching you squirm!”

I felt a little embarrassed thinking back to those times, but if Liz had enjoyed making me squirm it was only fair that I returned the favour. “So what other things did you fantasise about then?” I said with a snigger as I leant in and gave her gentle kisses on the side of her neck, making Liz let out a big sigh before slapping gently at my cheek.

“Yeah that too, but you should stop. I don’t want to be all flustered before everyone turns up after all.”

“I wouldn’t mind that” I said as I continued to peck gently at her neck. Liz spun around and pulled me into a hard kiss on the lips.

As she pulled back from it she gave me a wink. “Down boy!” she said with a laugh “You could at least wait for the honeymoon.”

With that the door to the shop swung open and Klein came marching in with Silica close behind. Liz jumped back from me trying to look nonchalant, proving that I had indeed managed to fluster her a little.

Klein let out a long whistle as he looked around the shop.

“Wow Liz this place is so cool!” Silica screeched.

A few minutes later Asuna, Kirito and Leafa all arrived with baskets of food and drink for the celebration. Agil also turned up to inspect the place, or possibly scope out his new competitor. Our friends all sat at the table as myself and Liz stood at the end. Liz tapped her glass with a fork to get everyone’s attention.

“Welcome everyone to the grand reopening of Lizbeth’s Blacksmith Shop!” we all cheered in response. “I’d also like to introduce you to my beautiful new assistant who will be helping me around the store.” Liz said with a chuckle as she waved her arms in front of me as if presenting me to the audience. I bowed at our friends and got a myriad of laughs.

As I rose again Liz took my hand and said. “Your turn honey.”

All our friends went quiet again and looked straight at me. I took in a gulp of air to calm my nerves and spoke. “We also want to invite everyone back next weekend for another party... For our wedding.”

Silica let out a high screech as Klein shouted over her “It’s about damn time!” Agil gave us a nod, while Kirito and Yui smiled up at us and Leafa covered her mouth with tears welling in her eyes. Asuna had the most violent reaction as she jumped up off the bench and pulled us both into a hug.

“Oh, you guys! I’m so happy for you both!” she said.

 

* * *

 

November 29th 2025

Lisbeth’s Blacksmith Shop, Yggdrasil City, ALO

 

The week passed in the blink of an eye. I spent all of my time either at school or helping Liz in her… our shop. However working alongside Liz didn’t feel like work at all.

The smith shop had been booming. Word of Liz’s skills had spread quickly and it seemed like every player in Yggdrasil wanted to have gear made or upgraded by the master blacksmith. She could barely keep up with the demand, yet she still wore the biggest smile all the time despite the workload.

However for today the store was closed. Using the money that we had earned I had bought a nice tailored suit and the girls had all gone shopping with Liz to buy a wedding dress. It was surprising how in depth the item pool was within ALO.

I waited at Kirito and Asuna’s apartment with Kirito, Klein and Agil for the call to head to the shop for the ceremony. The other girls had insisted on me not seeing Liz on the day of the wedding, something about an old tradition or superstition.

As I sat in the lounge I could feel all kinds of anxieties and excitement come and go in waves. A small part of me still tried to highlight that this marriage wasn’t real, at least not as far as the real world was concerned, but it was drowned out by every other fibre of my being. I couldn’t wait to be able to call Liz my wife even if it was only a fantasy to most people.

“Hey buddy, not getting cold feet are ya? You look like a ghost” Klein said as he stood on the other side of the coffee table before me.

“Not cold feet, just nervous I guess.” I replied shaking my head.

“I remember my wedding day like it was yesterday.” Agil spoke from the bar. “It’s something you ever forget, damn I was scared shitless.” He continued with a chuckle.

“I dunno why I’m so anxious though, it’s not like it’s a real wedding.” I admitted to the group.

“That doesn’t matter though” Kirito interjected “it feels real to you and that’s all that matters right? I know how scared I was when me and Asuna got married and all we did was press a few buttons.”

“Yeah you’re right, although that does raise the question of when you and Asuna are getting married IRL” I said back to him mockingly.

“Don’t even go there!” He replied pouting.

Finally the message came through from Asuna telling us that they were ready and we all walked to the shop. It didn’t seem like a good idea to fly and risk messing up our formal clothes on the way.

When we arrived we found Asuna, Yui and Leafa in the reception area of the shop. Asuna wore a long pale blue dress while Leafa had a flowing green coat and white leggings on. Yui had also made an effort to alter her appearance, adding frills to the end of her usual white dress and applying some shiny white shoes to her avatar.

The three were standing in front of a large steel arch which was expertly crafted with flowers all over. I couldn’t help but wonder if this had been an in-game item or something that had been crafted specially for the ceremony, perhaps by Liz herself.

Kirito made his way to stand beside Asuna and took her hand while Agil moved beside Leafa. I stood in the doorway frozen until Klein gave me a firm push into the room. “Come on man, get your ass inside” He said laughing and I made my way to the arch. My friends all looked to me with big smiles and I felt a burning in my cheeks.

I tried to desperately pull my shit together, this after all was going to be one of the happiest days of my life so far.

“We’re all set down here guys, let’s get this show on the road!” Leafa called out. With that I heard footsteps from upstairs and Silica made her way down the steps in a pale orange dress closely followed by Liz.

I felt my whole body tense up at the sight as Liz slowly made her way down the steps. Her dress was long and red with white frills winding their way all around. A large red flower was placed just above her left ear while her bangs on the right were left free to hang just short of her eyes. I could see from her cheeks that she was just as nervous as I was as they shone almost as red as her dress.

Silica guided Liz around the counter and took a place next to Klein in the semi-circle that formed around us. Liz smiled up at me which instantly made me smile back, all of the anxieties washing away at seeing my beloved so happy.

I reached my hand out to Liz and she gently grabbed onto it. “You ready?” I asked timidly, still trying to compose myself.

“Yup” she replied with a nod. I opened up my friends list to select Lizbeth and selected the marriage option. A window appeared in Liz’s view and she pressed the accept button without hesitation. A large sign flashed up saying  _‘congratulations!’_ and all our friends cheered.

Two rings then formed in a blue light, hovering before us and I eagerly grabbed one as Liz held up a finger. It took me a second to steady my trembling hand as I placed it onto her finger, Liz doing the same back to me shortly thereafter.

“Come on, kiss the bride already!” I heard Silica shout out making Liz’s and my own smile grow wider as I embraced Liz tightly and our lips locked to yet more cheers.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to say it but it looks like the next chapter might have to wait until next week.
> 
> Whilst I have around 5 more chapters ready to go I wanted to add another one in before them. However this chapter is only about 33% written right now, let alone proofread, due to IRL things getting in the way. Because of this I’m gonna set a tentative deadline of next Wednesday to get the chapter done, if for whatever reason I won’t be able to get it done in time I’ll add a temporary chapter just to let you guys know what the ETA will be. Again sorry for this L
> 
> TLDR: Next chapter will hopefully be up next Wednesday.


	33. Resurface

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So since we’re now back to events specifically shown within the light novels/ anime, I’ve decided that when discussions are made between characters that do not involve Tyzn I will simply gloss over what is said to save transcribing it all, but it did make writing this chapter a pain in the ass so sorry in advance if it’s a bit sloppy.
> 
> Also for the next few chapters expect some VERY heavy spoilers of season 2.

 

 

Chapter 32 December 14th 2025 “Resurface”

Kirito and Asuna’s Apartment, ALO

 

Asuna had called us all over to her place in ALO. Apparently the reason that Kirito had been absent for the last couple of days was that he had converted over to another game called GGO to compete in a grand tournament.

Something seemed off to me about it. The game used real world guns as its main feature, way outside of Kirito’s usual wheelhouse. What’s more by converting his account over to another game that was this different, he ran the risk of losing his items in ALO. I had tried to ask Asuna about it and although she seemed worried she wouldn’t give up any info.

Regardless of what was going on it was always fun whenever we collected together to watch a tournament together.

The girls and Klein discussed how they hadn’t seen Kirito at all yet and how it was out of character for him not to be running around from one fight to the next. It just added another layer of confusion to the whole event, I was still finding it hard to wrap my head around the underlying reasons for the sudden shift to GGO.

Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves though so I tried my best to push my curiosity aside.

Liz was enthralled by a player called Pale Rider. As a primarily agility based character myself I could appreciate his fast movements and swift closure with his target as the other player emptied an entire magazine hitting nothing but air. This was followed by a swift execution of his target.

However out of nowhere he was hit with a silent paralysis attack and soon after a strange cloaked figure stood over him. Behind his hood we could see two glowing red eyes. It was an image that I had seen before somewhere but couldn’t place.

A sudden shot rang out and a mass of debris was kicked into the air, yet as it settled the masked figure remained in place and pulled a pistol out of his cloak. He fired a single shot into Pale Rider who took a very tiny amount of damage from the attack and soon sprung up to retaliate as the paralysis wore off.

But something stopped him dead in his tracks as he fell to the floor clutching his chest. Something was very wrong with what just happened and I felt a wave of fear rise up as a disconnection sign popped up in place of his body.

As the masked figure spoke memories came flooding back.

_I’ve seen him, heard that voice, but where? Aincrad! It had to be SAO._

Through my concentration I heard the words “It’s ShowTime!”

_LAUGHING COFFIN!_

I heard a glass smash behind me as Asuna and Klein worked out what I just had, though who it was still eluded me. I was using all my energy to try and focus, to remember any information in the hopes of setting my mind at ease. A question focused at me redrew my attention to the room.

“Do you remember his name Tyzn?” Asuna asked.

“No… I… I don’t” I could barely get my words out as the fear gripped me. It was taking all my strength to hold it back, to concentrate and find that little piece that would make it all fall into place. I had to before my PTSD would kick in and the other side of me would try to force its way out. I could feel that fear boiling just under the surface again and the thoughts of losing myself once more only added to it.

_Its ShowTime. That was PoH’s catchphrase. The leader of laughing coffin. But this wasn’t PoH, the voice was too different and that look was someone else’s. I had seen another member of laughing coffin who looked like this avatar but who?_

I could hear Klein coming to the same conclusion. “But this guy, he was close to PoH. I’m talking right hand man close.”

“Klein’s right.” I added “He was there when we took the fight to laughing coffin.” My fists clenched as I struggled to see through the haze of fear now embroiled with anger. “But I can’t remember his damn name!”

Liz squeezed my hand. The familiar warmth calmed me slightly but I still couldn’t find the crucial information.

Klein began to explain to the others about the assault on their hideout, as he did the memories of that day resurfaced. The faces of those who had died, those I had killed, came back like a flood. I could feel that fire inside once again raging, building its way up.

I looked towards Liz and stared at her worried face as she listened to Klein.

_Liz is safe, Liz is safe,_  I kept repeating to myself over and over in my head which worked to quench the flames of anger, at least for the time being.

Asuna logged out to try and contact the person who had hired Kirito to switch to GGO. At least I would finally get some answers, but probably too late to help Kirito in GGO. Right now though I had to focus, try to remember, that was how I could best help him.

 

* * *

 

Asuna soon returned and told us that Kirito’s client was going to meet us within ALO to give us some answers.

Finally A man arrived with the avatar name of Chrysheight. He must have been Kirito’s client as Asuna stood and approached him, by her stance I could tell that she was not ready to take any bullshit, which reassured me. If he did then he would probably find out just why Lightning Flash Asuna was so feared by her enemies.

It was then I realised from his voice and mannerisms, this was the man who had spoken to my parents about coming to Tokyo in the first place.  _Kikuoka._

As expected he tried to beat around the bush but Asuna quickly cut him down as Yui began to explain her findings.

As Yui explained the deaths that had occurred within GGO the fire came back with vengeance. Kirito’s death in SAO, that memory I had so struggled with in the past, came crashing back alongside all the others I had witnessed over those two years.

The world started to fade away once more, my fists were clenched tight and a red mist began to rise. I could feel my breaths become heavy and rapid, and my heart began to hammer in my ears.

_Not this again! I can’t lose control!_ I internally screamed. But it was too late to stop it.

That was until I once again felt Liz’s warmth as she put her hand tight around my fist and gently raised a hand to move my chin towards her.

Through the fog I could see Liz with tears welling in her eyes, yet she smiled at me. I had no doubt that she could tell what was going on in my mind, after all she was the only one who had seen my other side unleashed. Yet she showed no fear, without even moving her lips I could tell what she was saying to me.

“ _It’s ok, I’m here with you.”_

The inferno subsided and the mist lifted. Liz had pulled me back from the brink and in that moment all I wanted to do was cry. But right now Asuna would need me, I could at least help Kirito that way. I gave Liz a slight nod as I exhaled sharply and felt a tear roll down my cheek.

As I was once again able to hear the conversation in the room I heard Kikuoka explaining that the AmuSphere was safe and that Kirito had gone in to do recon and find answers. Asuna explained how Klein, myself and her had fought Laughing Coffin and that we knew this Death Gun was a member.

We all tried to come up with a way to track down who this player was but without knowing his avatars handle in SAO we were at a loss.

Leafa explained that she knew exactly why Kirito had accepted the job as well as his motivations, to protect all of us and to finally put the horrors of SAO to rest.

Klein and Asuna were obviously angered by Kirito’s actions, Klein even voiced how he would’ve gone with him if only he’d asked. But I could see why he had done it this way, I would’ve done the same damn thing!

“We all would’ve converted in an instant if we knew, that’s why he didn’t tell us. If there was even a remote chance that we could get hurt, he won’t take the risk. That’s just who he is, who we all are.” I said feeling the warmth of our collection of friends all banding together.

“Yeah you’re right” Liz agreed. “He always thinks of others before himself. In fact he’s probably protecting someone right now, and whoever that is I bet it’s someone who doesn’t like him much.”

Asuna then asked Chrysheight where Kirito was diving from and got “That’s confidential” as an answer.

Asuna stomped her way towards him and I shot up off the sofa to assist in being as menacing as possible.

Startled by our aggression, Chrysheight backed up slightly and started to give another bullshit answer.

“Where is he!?” Asuna yelled over him. My fists clenched once more, but with my focus now back on finding answers the anger remained under control.

Chrysheight finally explained that Kirito was diving from the same hospital where he had done his rehab after SAO.

“I’m going over there! I want to see him and you can’t do a thing about it!” Asuna sternly said to him. Chrysheight stood silent for a few seconds before finally backing down.

“Ok, I’ll tell them you’re on your way.” He eventually said.

“Do you want me to meet you there Asuna?” I asked without taking my eyes from Chrysheight.

“No that’s ok” Asuna replied “You guys stay here and cheer Kirito on. Tyzn, please make sure our ‘ _Guest’_ leaves.”

I gave Asuna a nod as she logged out.

As Asuna disappeared my gaze stayed fixed on Chrysheight. “You heard the lady” I said in an angered voice through clenched teeth.

He put his hands in the air as if to surrender “Ok, ok. I’m going. I’m sorry that it all happened like this, but I’m sure Kirito will be fine.”

I was about to get aggressive, I was done with the bullshit that seemed to follow and spew from this man.

However Liz beat me to it as she shouted “Jesus Christ, get the fuck out!” and without another word Chrysheight left.

Once the door closed I collapsed back down onto the sofa beside Liz as Klein moved to take Asuna’s unoccupied seat next to us. Liz raised her arms around me holding me tight as we all looked up at the big screen waiting for a glimpse of Kirito.

“Hey Tyzn” Klein said.

“Yeah?”

“Remind me to never get on your bad side, that was terrifying” Klein said with a jovial voice as he tried to lighten the mood, the way that only Klein could.

“Oh trust me, that wasn’t even close to my bad side.” I replied.

Suddenly a new window appeared from one of cameras. Finding a player fight, or at least what it thought was one. It showed two girls huddled in a cave talking, but when I saw the eyes on one of the girls I knew that it had to be Kirito. It ws strange seeing Kirito in a female avatars body and the sight bought a slight smile to my face.

I quickly pulled it up to full screen getting a confused look from everyone else. “It’s just two girls in a cave you perv.” Liz said with a hint of a chuckle.

“No that’s Kirito, look at the eyes.” I replied.

Suguha let out a gasp “Oh my god, Tyzn’s right!” she squeaked.

“But who is the girl with him?” Silica said sounding concerned and a little bit annoyed.

“Trust Kirito to go into a new game and instantly have a hotty all over him. Jeez what is it with that guy?” Klein pouted as he slumped back.

“That must be the person he is protecting who doesn’t like him much, eh Liz?” I said with a smile. My anger had finally subsided, knowing now that Kirito was as safe as he could be.

 

* * *

 

Twenty gruelling minutes later Kirito was standing in the open desert with no weapons drawn and his eyes closed. “What is this dofus doing?” Liz said staring at him in bewilderment.

Without warning Kirito took a step to the side and began to charge over the dunes with a lightsabre like sword in hand. As he ran her flung the sword around repeatedly as sparks flew.

“Holy shit, he can block bullets with a sword?” I said in shock. “Trust Kirito to push the limits and break the game.”

Everyone else was too engrossed in what was happening on screen to comment. Another player, Yamikaze, was taken out by the same girl we had seen Kirito with earlier. A camera located who Kirito was charging towards and once again showed the masked man lying under a rock with a sniper rifle.

Suddenly he switched position and took aim, probably up to where Kirito’s new friend was firing from. Without warning his sniper rifle was shattered into pieces, yet he pulled a long piece of metal from its crumpled form.

Now having closed the distance Kirito leaped into the familiar <<Vorpal Strike>>, yet without any sword skill assistance engine the masked man dodged it and counter attacked with the piece of metal in his hand. However his own attack was made with incredible speed matching that of the sword skill system, a piercing attack pattern that was used by weapons similar to rapiers, such as an Estoc.

Suddenly a memory surged forth from deep in my consciousness, taking me back to SAO. The weapon he held was an Estoc… the voice and those red eyes… I had seen and heard them during our assault… this player led the counter attack against the assault team.

“Red-Eyed XaXa!” I shouted jumping to my feet. “That’s this bastard’s name.”

“You’re right!” Klein added also jumping to his feet.

“I’m going to log out and let Asuna know, she can contact Kikuoka.” I informed everyone and quickly logged out.

I shot up from my bed and grabbed at my phone without even removing the AmuSphere. I hurriedly sent a text message to Asuna.

****_Red-Eyed XaXa. You need to let Kikuoka know right away!_ ** **

Asuna quickly replied.

****_Thank you I will let him know. Tell everyone that Kirito is safe, he just needs us to give him our strength to fight._ ** **

As soon as the message was read I laid back down and re-entered ALO. I was back in the apartment and quickly sat next to Liz again. On the screen Kirito was in an intense sword duel with XaXa, however it was clear that Kirito was stuck on the defensive, desperately blocking blows trying to find an opening.

“Is Asuna ok?” Silica timidly asked with tears in her eyes.

“She said that Kirito is safe, she wants us to all give Kirito our strength to go on fighting.” I replied with my voice cracking. We all watched on in silence as the fight continued and Kirito’s HP drained.

Without warning the two fighters suddenly stopped and glared at each other, making everyone gasp.

_What just happened?_ I thought to myself.

A red line appeared on the camera overlay, the warning of an aimed shot hitting a player. XaXa jumped to the side to avoid the shot and Kirito wasted no time in exploiting the opening.

He leapt forwards ready to swing but XaXa shimmered and began to fade.

_He must have some kind of camouflage skill, if Kirito didn’t strike soon, XaXa would have no problem finishing this fight with a single strike._ I thought to myself, trying to assess a method to win without even having the capacity to do anything about it.

Still in mid-air Kirito’s free hand drew his sidearm and fired off a string of bullets which found their target, breaking the camouflage. XaXa was not done yet and unleashed a volley of stabs at Kirito as Kirito swung around in the air, but still he kept kept on towards XaXa. Swinging his light sword around in a wide arc, Kirito struck home and with one wide swing cleaved XaXa in two.

“Yeah take that you PKing arsehole!” Klein shouted as he leapt into the air. The rest of us were too flustered to say anything but all smiled broadly.

Kirito was now joined by the girl he had worked with to fight against XaXa. While the cameras hovered around them we couldn’t hear a word of what was said.

The girl pulled out a grenade and tossed it to Kirito who dropped it on the ground with a scared look on his face. Rather than let him run she leapt forwards and took Kirito in a big hug, causing the grenade to take them both out.

A huge banner filled the large TV announcing that the winners were both Kirito and Sinon, his partner in the fight against XaXa.

We all stared at the screen in disbelief at how it ended. Liz was the first to break the silence with a chuckle.

“Ohoho, Asuna is gonna be pissed!”

 

* * *

 

 

The next day we all went into school as usual.

During lunch Kirito explained what had happened in what he referred to as the Death Gun Incident, how XaXa, his brother and the last member of the murder guild, Johnny Black, had conspired to continue the legacy of Laughing Coffin.

He then asked for Asuna and Liz to help him repay Sinon by finding someone from her past.

Kirito was a little vague on the details, probably so that not everyone knew what Sinon’s past truly was, but both the girls agreed without question.

After school I asked Liz to come with me to a park a few blocks from the hostel, I was desperate to talk to her about the previous night, about how much I was still struggling to keep in control.

We sat on a bench together in silence for a while until Liz spoke up. “I think I know why we are here” I stayed quiet and Liz turned her head to face me. “You feel bad because you almost lost control right?”

I nodded in response and could see the film of tears forming on my eyes, blurring my vision. Liz took my hand in hers before continuing.

“Well you don’t need to silly. You didn’t give up and you kept it all at bay to help Kirito and Asuna. You’re still a hero.”

“No…” I said in a strained voice. “The only reason I didn’t lose control was because of you.”

Liz leant in against my shoulder “I told you dummy, I’ll always be there for you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I apologise for this chapter being a bit of a mess, it was hard for me to reference the anime and insert my character at the same time without literally writing everything that was said and done in the episodes.
> 
> Luckily there are only a few more chapters I want to write that will have to do this again but any advice on how to approach it would be appreciated. :D
> 
> Finally I’m hoping to get the next chapter uploaded at the same time next week, but we all know how that likes to change recently :/


	34. Christmas

Chapter 33 December 22nd 2025 “Christmas”

SAO Survivors School

 

I was sitting in class watching the clock slowly move its hands around, it felt like every second took minutes to tick by. Today was the last day before the winter break and in the morning I would be heading back to Kyoto to be with my family. But that wasn’t the reason for my impatience.

I had promised Liz that we would make tonight special, since it was the last time we would see each other before the New Year, in the real world at least.

The clock hit 3:15 and the final bell of the day rang out. You could feel the excitement throughout the school as we all rushed out towards the exits, but before leaving the front gates I diverted off the side where my friends were all gathered.

“Finally Tyzn, what took you so long?” Liz called to me as I jogged up.

“It’s like getting caught up in a traffic jam getting out of there” I said in return.

Asuna chuckled to herself. “I’m gonna miss seeing you guys in the real world.” She said to us all. Liz, Silica and I were all heading home to our parents for Christmas and wouldn’t be back until after New Years.

“Eh, we’ve got ALO. We’re still going to see each other all the time.” Kirito responded in a dismissive tone.

“It’s not the same though, and not everyone is as addicted as you are.” Asuna replied in a stern voice.

“It’s good we can still meet up like that though. I can’t imagine how people would’ve made it through the holidays without VR.” Silica said.

I had never considered it before but Silica was only 12 when the SAO incident started, she probably wouldn’t have known any different when it came to having friends that you really missed. Then again I doubt many of us would. Kirito and I were always loners before SAO while Liz and Asuna had never mentioned IRL friends before SAO so I could only assume they were too.

“I’m still going to be unable to come online for a week this holiday though. I’ve gotta go to my grandparents in Kyoto and they hate the fact that I play VRMMO’s more than even my mum does.” Asuna said in a sad voice.

“Well Tyzn can always come along and break you out.” Liz said. “He can do with being someone else’s hero for a change!”

This made Asuna laugh and she seemed cheered up a little. “I wish it was that easy” Asuna replied.

“I’m gonna be at my grandparents for a few days too and they don’t even have the internet.” I said solemnly. “I also haven’t told my parents that I’m still playing VRMMO’s yet so that will be… interesting.”

“Well you better make sure you’re online to help with the floor 21 boss!” Liz growled at me. “You promised you would help Kirito and Asuna!”

“Whoa!” I said holding my hands in the air. “I’ll find a way to help, calm down!”

“Thank you Tyzn” Asuna said with a smile. Getting back their home on floor 22 was very important to Asuna and Kirito and I had every intention to help them reach it. Even Yui had expressed excitement at the possibility since she had met them both on floor 22.

We spent another ten minutes talking with Asuna and Kirito before we had to board the last bus back to the hostel. We each exchanged hugs and goodbyes before boarding, although giving Kirito a handshake felt more appropriate for me.

 

* * *

 

When we finally arrived back at the hostel I said my last goodbye to Silica for the year and hurried back to my room to change, meeting Liz by my bike as quickly as we could.

“So what’s the plan hero?” Liz asked me as we strapped our helmets on.

“I was thinking we could go to the arcade and then get a milkshake.”

“Ready for me to kick your ass at Tekken again then?” Liz had thrashed me last time we played together at the arcade and I was determined to regain some honour.

“Or maybe I let you win last time.” I said with a wink as I mounted the bike.

“Pfft, I beat you fair and square noob” Liz chuckled as she sat behind me.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later Liz and I were sitting in the restaurant with two large milkshakes with Liz mocking me getting smashed yet again.

“Honestly I thought you would at least put up more of a fight, but somehow you got worse!” Liz said while laughing at me.

“Hey I beat you at that racing game” I said trying to defend what little pride I had left.

“Racing games take no skill though dummy”

“You’re only saying that cause you hit every wall on the course.”

“Or maybe I let you win.” Liz said with a wink and a cheeky smile, I wondered how long she had waited for an opportunity to throw my earlier comment back at me. Still, her big smile bought me so much joy that even her stinging comments couldn’t hurt me.

“Well I guess I should give you this now.” I said as I pulled a small box from my pocket and gently pushed it across the table to Liz.

She looked a little stunned “oh, I left your present back in my room. I didn’t know you we’re going to give me mine now.”

“It’s fine, I can wait. Go on open it.”

Liz lifted the lid from the box revealing the item within. I had spent ages trying to find a jeweller who could make my custom order but in the end it was exactly what I had hoped for. Liz’s eyes shone as she peered inside at the pendant and chain within so she obviously agreed.

The pendant was a circular design, with a full plate helmet prominently displayed. Etched into the metal to its side were the words “ _Lisbeth’s Smith Shop_ ”.

Tears began to form in Liz’s eyes and she covered her mouth with both her hands.

“So do you like it?” I asked getting worried at her lack of any further reaction.

“I love it!” she said from behind her hands. She reached one hand across the table and took a tight hold of mine. “I love you dummy” She squeaked.

I let out a laugh and moved around the table. Taking the chain in my hands I moved behind her. “May I?” I asked and Liz nodded profusely. I gently placed the chain around her neck and fastened the clasp before letting it hang.

As I went to move back to my chair Liz stood up and hugged me tight. “You really are the best Tyzn!” she beamed and pulled me into multiple quick kisses.

When she finally released the embrace and sat back down I moved back to my own chair feeling quite proud of myself. Liz sat looking at the pendant in her hand with a huge smile. “I can’t believe you remember what the sign even looked like.” She said.

“Of course I remember, whenever I saw that sign I knew that I would be seeing you soon. I could never forget that.” I replied.

“That was really squishy.” Liz chuckled “But I’ll let it slide”.

 

* * *

 

When we finally arrived at the campus it was already late. Liz hopped off my bike and pulled me by the hand to the girl’s dorm. “I’ll be right back” she said giving me a peck on the cheek and hurrying inside.

There was a cold chill in the air as I waited and I really regretted only bringing a hoddie out with me. However Liz didn’t take long before she reappeared with a beautifully wrapped present under her arm. As she came through the door she held it out in her hands with a big smile. “Your turn hero.”

I hurriedly unwrapped the paper and pulled a long cloth coat from within. I had mentioned to Liz back in the summer how I wanted to get one but had completely forgotten all about it until now. I threw it on straight away, partly through eagerness and partly through desire to get warm.

“Is that the kind of coat you wanted?” Liz asked timidly.

“It’s even better than the one I saw” I replied genuinely. Liz took me into a big hug yet again.

“Good, cause you are a pain in the backside to buy presents for.” Liz chuckled. I lifted her chin with my hand and gave her a passionate yet reserved kiss which I wished would never end.

As we both inched our faces apart Liz sighed. “I wish you could come back to my room for the night, but you’d probably get caught in the morning.”

“Yeah it’s gonna be busy and I’d rather I didn’t get banned properly from staying at yours in the future, that would really suck” I pondered.

Liz’s eyes began to water and she rubbed them with her hand. “I’m gonna miss you dummy.” She said through a sob.

I had to bite back my own tears but tried to reassure Liz. “I’ll miss you too, but I promise every chance I get I’ll either be on the phone or in game with you. I won’t make it through the holiday otherwise.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that” Liz chuckled. “You better call me every day to say good morning and goodnight otherwise I will kick your ass!”

“Understood M’am” I replied with a salute. I don’t know what it is, but whenever I do that to Liz when she was being bossy it makes her smile, laugh and brings a sparkle to her eye which makes me feel warm all over.

“You’re such a dork! But I love you anyway.” She finally said with a smile.

“I love you too honey.”

We leant into our last kiss before Liz headed inside.

_This is gonna be a long holiday_ I thought to myself as I headed for my room.


	35. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I'm afraid this will be the last upload of this story for a while. This is as far as I have written and honestly I'm still not happy with this chapter either. 
> 
> I'm kind of in a rut right now where I don't really have the time to write new chapters, so instead I have been going back to revisit old chapters to give them the overhaul they need.
> 
> Since I have become quite a bit better at writing lately these updated chapters are way better IMHO with more detail and better flowing dialogue.
> 
>  I will eventually upload the updated story here once I am happy with it, but for the time being I have been uploading the revisited version of the story over on fanfiction.net.
> 
> The story over there is way behind what has been uploaded here but like I said I feel it is much better overall and will be getting regular updates and changes. If you enjoyed the story thus far it may be worth checking it out :D

 

 

 

Chapter 34 December 24th 2025 "Home"

 

Kyoto

 

I sat opposite my parents in the kitchen. I had asked them both to talk before I was to dive into ALO to assist Kirito and Asuna and of course see Liz again.

I was finding it hard to construct my thoughts into explaining to them about my use of full dive tech again. Sure the AmuSphere was nothing like the Nervegear in terms of its capacity to damage the brain of its user, but convincing my parents of that was going to be tough.

In the end I settled on just explaining it as I went along.

"I want to tell you both in person rather than trying to hide this from you." I started. "Have you heard about the AmuSphere?"

My father leaned back in his chair giving his usual stare whilst my mum looked at me with confusion in her eyes.

"It's a piece of tech like the Nervegear, it lets you play games in the same way."

The sign of them both realising where I was going with the conversation appeared on both of their faces. My mother looked as if she was going to cry whilst my dad's eyes went wide.

"It's nothing like the Nervegear though when it comes to safety. It doesn't have enough power to hurt people's brains and has loads of safety features like logging you out if you get hungry or dehydrated. So you can't trap people in it." I hurriedly added.

"And you want to use this thing?" My dad asked.

"Why would you want to go back there?" My mum added.

"Well the thing is... I already have one... and have been using it for months." My mum started to cry while my father looked at me confused.

"You have to understand" I went on "it's nothing like what you think. It's safe to use, I wouldn't otherwise, believe me. But it lets me meet with my friends and spend time with them regardless of where we are, that's what makes me happy."

My mum continued to sob while my father parsed the information in his head.

"Why are you telling us this now?" My mum eventually asked.

"Because he has it with him." My father said before I could reply. "He wants to use it while he is here don't you?"

I hung my head and nodded slowly. It was beginning to look like I wouldn't be able to help my friends after all.

"What do we do if we need you?" My mum asked as she wiped her eyes and I looked back up to her confused. "How do we wake you back up if we need to?" she rephrased.

"You can just shake my body and it will alert me that someone in the real world wants me." I explained. "Or I can add your phone numbers to the contact list and you can text me."

My father looked to my mother and took her hand. "What do you think dear?" He asked her.

"If it really is safe then I suppose we can't stop him" she looked back to me with a stern look "But you had better come back when I tell you to, I can't go through all that again!"

"Ok mum, I promise I will" I couldn't help but cry a little. "Thank you."

 

* * *

 

Now with my parents' permission I logged back into ALO. As I appeared in our familiar home, sitting at the downstairs table, I was greeted by Liz as she jumped onto my lap and embraced me tight.

"What took you so long dummy?" she asked me.

"I had to explain the AmuSphere to my parents, but they are ok with it now... kinda." I replied and kissed Liz gently on the head.

"Well obviously or you wouldn't be here." She giggled.

It was then that I noticed another woman in the workshop who gave me a big smile. The girl was slim and tall with long blonde hair which flowed behind her. Strangest of all was the fact that she seemed to be standing on the wrong side of the counter.

"Hello Tyzn, welcome back." She waved at me.

"Errr... Hi" I replied very confused.  _Am I supposed to know this person?_

Liz laughed hard as she leant back. "Relax dumbass, this is Elsa. They just added NPC vendors so I thought I'd hire her to help with the shop."

"Oh, Hello Elsa. Thanks for your help" I said far more respectfully. Even if she was just an NPC they were always so lifelike, especially in games using the cardinal system it seemed. Besides it felt wrong to treat them like objects, after all Yui was far more than an in game object.

"It's my pleasure Tyzn." She said with a bow and a smile.

Liz looked back towards me. "Just think, now the shop can stay open when we're not logged on or when we're busy." She beamed. "Or you know, when we need some alone time" she added far more suggestively as she stroked a finger down my jawline and then placed her arms around my neck.

"Speaking of being busy, shouldn't we head over to Kirito and Asuna's place?" I asked.

"I want a cuddle first, it was horrible not seeing you all day yesterday." Liz said as she pulled herself in tighter.

I embraced her back for a few seconds before an idea popped into my head. I started to whisper into her ear "You know, we can cuddle and still head there."

"Not with how close I want you" Liz replied "That'll make walking and flying impossible."

"Oh really?" I asked with a cheeky grin.

Leaning back and seeing my grin a look of worry appeared on Liz's face. "Oh no, what the hell are you... WHAAA" she screeched as I stood up holding her bridal style and marching my way towards the door.

"You better hold on tight" I laughed to her.

Liz giggled loudly as I carried her. She waved goodbye to Elsa as I pushed the door open with my butt. "See you later Elsa, thanks for holding down the fort!" I said as we left.

"My pleasure, enjoy yourselves" The NPC called to us.

I exited the store and began walking down the wide cobbled street, getting all kind of funny looks from the other players as we passed. Liz was still giggling loudly and uncontrollably until she eventually composed herself enough to say "You know it'll take ages to get there on foot right?"

A mischievous grin crossed my face. "You're right, guess I better do this then" I laughed out and shot into the air towards the upper city where the apartment was located.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Liz screamed "You ass, you better not drop me!"

I laughed into her ear. "You can fly too if you want me to stop."

"I didn't say that" she giggled out back.

When we finally arrived at the apartment I placed Liz gently down on her feet and she quickly pulled me into a kiss. "That was fun, just warn me next time ok?" she told me with a smile.

"Now where's the fun in that?" I replied mischievously.

 

* * *

 

We all headed up to the 21st floor dungeon and split into two parties due to the size of our group of friends. Kirito, Asuna, Silica, Liz and I made up the first party whilst Agil, Klein, Leafa and Sinon made up the second party.

As we rushed our way through the dungeon it became clear that even though her account was only a week old, Sinon possessed amazing skill with a bow. She leapt from wall to wall unleashing arrows into any monsters that crossed her sight, obviously transferring her amazing skills in GGO over to ALO.

Between all eight of us we tore through the dungeon in no time, if it had been that easy back in SAO we would've cleared the death game in no time.

Hundreds of players were already gathered outside the boss room as we approached and the matchmaker was quick to find our parties a raid group, luckily without splitting the two parties into different raids.

Back in SAO this boss had been a number of large golems which, when low on health, would meld together into a much larger one until they eventual grew into a huge behemoth of a boss. However ALO had a tendency to up the stakes in their boss battles so this was likely to be far tougher.

As the huge doors slid open our parties entered. Each of our friends had a determined look on our faces, we were all desperate to get the forest house back for Asuna and Kirito.

Off to the flank of the raiding party I saw Blackwall's Bruisers, as the guild was now known. I gave them a nod receiving a thumbs up from the big man. It filled me with pride to see their party up here in the dungeons rather than aggravating other players by PKing.

When the door closed behind us a blue light shone over the arena as a huge golem, larger than even the final phase of SAO loomed from the darkness and its one eye lit up in a vibrant red colour.

"Let's do this!" Kirito yelled and we all drew our weapons to enter the fray.

As myself and Kirito focused on playing forwards and parrying blows, Asuna held back to provide her healing support. Covering our two parties was going to strain her Mana levels, let alone if she also helped to heal the other parties in the raid.

The rest of our friends focused on hit and run attacks to avoid gaining aggro whilst dealing huge damage.

Yui was sat on Kirito's shoulder and helping by analysing the attack patterns of the boss to call out to us. Everytime she announced a move it was if she was perched on our shoulder too, as it came through crystal clear.

_One of the advantages of being an AI linked intrinsically to the system_  I thought to myself.

The health of the boss was being whittled down slowly, it seemed like the true challenge of this fight would be the stamina to wear down its insane HP.

Eventually its health hit the halfway point and a call from Yui was heard by us all "Attack patterns are changing, a big swipe is coming in three...two..." The rest of my friends fell back to avoid the swing but I was determined to use this to my advantage. "One!"

The huge arm of the golem came careening down and I readied an Original Sword Skill that I had been working on, <<Hurricane>>. Unleashing it just before impact it launched me into the air, up and over the big arm and following its trajectory. I then tumbled forwards with my blade outstretched parallel to my body, each rotation cutting away at the arm as I went.

With the fifth and final blow of the move all of the previous slices triggered a chain reaction of their magical property, as wind magic surged out sending shockwaves which staggered the boss back.

Again the behemoth swung down with its arm, with the skill now on cooldown I leapt back to dodge the blow. However several other players were caught off guard by the rapid second attack and were sent tumbling.

I saw a pale, blue blur shoot past me as Asuna joined the fray smashing into the boss with her powerful <<Star Splash>> Skill, depleting the boss's health rapidly following my previous onslaught.

With the help of Sinon and Kirito providing covering shots and parries, Asuna unleashed another attack. This time she charged with one of her most powerful and most utilized skills, <<Flashing Penetrator>>. She shot forward at tremendous speed, letting out a loud sonic boom before impacting with the Golems chest. She stopped dead against its chest but with a final war-cry managed to smash straight through the boss, depleting the last of its HP.


End file.
